Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return
by Dilnos521
Summary: About six months after the events of his battle in Britannia, Roland Sage is caught up in a new war against a stronger version of the Neuroi. Teaming up with old friends, the Neuroi Witch must now fight to protect Romagna. However, even with the help of the Strike Witches and his prototype Striker Unit, can even Roland survive events that he has no way of knowing? Rated T for now.
1. Being a Witch Once Again (Part 1)

**Alright, here we go! :)**

**It's been, what, a little over eight months since the last story, huh? ****Well, it's time to rejoice (or whatever it is you do when a sequel comes out), for the next chapter in the _Strike Heroes_ saga is ready to begin.**

**Before we begin, I want to thank those who waited for this moment as well as those who have read _Strike Heroes_ since I put up the epilogue. It was rather interesting for me to still get some favorites or follows from readers...along with a few reviews. Anyways, it's still good to hear from you even after I finished that story, so thanks for sticking around.**

**Anyways, I'm sure that you guys are starting to read this for the story, right?**

**Okay, let's start in on the next chapter of the Strike Witches' story...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: Being a Witch Once Again (Part 1)**

_**In 1944, the Gallia region of Europe was captured by a strange alien enemy known only to humankind as the Neuroi. However, thanks to the courageous resolve that the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, the enemy Neuroi was wiped out and Gallia was saved from destruction. Nevertheless, the battle was still far from over...**_

_Junko's POV_

"Enemy Neuori detected. It seems to be a humanoid type reported by the Five Hundred and First last year."

That was the report from one of the planes that were escorting us as we were flying toward the Neuroi nest. The reason why they were saying that was because as we were flying through the Venezian airspace towards said nest, it decided to release a being that was similar to the one that was first seen by two members of the Five-Oh-One.

"Is it the Neuroi Witch?" was the follow-up question asked by one of the men.

"Doesn't look like it. Besides, no one's seen him in the air for a while."

I had next to no idea who the Neuroi Witch was really, but I could tell you what I did know: the one named that was a male Witch who had been a member of the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, a strange boy with a weird prototype Striker Unit. Based on the name, I could only assume that he had powers that could be compared to that of a Neuroi's. I also remember Mio giving me a name for the man, though the name was currently not clear right now. Might have something to do with the mission at hand.

"Visual confirmation here," I reported back as I flew toward it, feeling the wind fly past me like it was just a normal mission. "Initiating Contact Plan Alpha-Three."

"Understood."

A while later, I stopped in front of the humanoid Neuroi. It didn't look too intimidating, but given that it was a Neuroi I had to watch myself. Attempting contact with the Neuroi was risky but vital to our survival. It may be the only hope of ending this war, so I had to try.

I was about to say something, but I was prevented from doing so by some sort of slight chill.

Why was I feeling like this now?

Suddenly, a red beam of energy shot down from above and hit the Neuroi I was looking at. In response, I shielded my eyes from the sudden brightness as I heard the Neuroi scream. When I looked afterward, said being was gone. Annihilated.

_That looked like a Neuroi beam that hit it,_ I thought as I soon looked up. What I saw next was something that made me very scared internally. _What? No!_

**_Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant hive appeared in the skies over Venezia, consuming the old nest and enveloping Northern Romagna. The human race was forced once again into a battle for survival against the Neuroi._**

I couldn't believe it: we were so close to achieving contact and hopefully try getting something out of them, and now...I was looking at the spot the old Neuroi had once been.

"Takei to Command," I said into my radio as I soon looked at the newly-added hive. My voice sounded like it was going to be the end of the world. "The mission to contact the Neuroi has failed. I repeat, Operation Trajanus has failed."

_**Meanwhile, a young man was far more busy reading a map than trying to help. Not like he would have been able to, anyways: being far from Venezia and inside Fuso, he has no idea about the fight that humanity was to partake in once again...**_

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Some people may say that nature is nice and is able to look beautiful. Others might be more concerned with the creatures that might lurk out there.

Me? I'm more of the "ones that end up lost and a little annoyed at that fact".

"Stupid map..." I mumbled to myself as I walked down a dirt road, staring at a map of the country I was currently standing on, Fuso. "You say that this place is this way, but I don't even know where I am!"

I was wearing my combat gear: a pair of black cargo pants, a white shirt with a green vest over it, and black trainers. On my left wrist was an analog watch that held some importance to me, and on my back was a blue backpack carrying some of my basic supplies, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a crowbar. Between the backpack and my back was a sword inside a brown leather scabbard. My black hair was about an inch long, and my brown eyes were busy looking at the map I was holding.

Let me guess: you were expecting me to be wearing something more in line with the times?

Okay...maybe I should probably start by introducing myself in case you forgot. My name is Roland Sage. I went by the names "Ground Witch", "Lieutenant Sage", "Roland", "Roland-kun", at one instance (thanks to a certain Romagnan Witch) "Lieutenant Roland-kun", and more recently "Neuroi Witch". As some of my names suggested, I was a lieutenant in the Liberion Army for a while until I was recruited to be a part of a group of Witches known as the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing, more famously known as the Strike Witches. While there, I met a lot of amazing Witches, made new friends, and even helped destroy a few Neuroi.

...Right, maybe I should admit something...the reason why I said that I _was_ a lieutenant was because I was no longer serving the army per se.

See, it all happened close to six months ago, when a certain little Fuso Witch by the name of Yoshika Miyafuji and I went into a Neuroi nest to learn about something. What we ended up triggering was a slew of events that resulted in the disbanding of the Strike Witches. If you really wanted to know, I had been the oddball of the group for a few reasons.

First, I was a male Witch, which was already strange enough when you consider the fact that my teammates were all girls (not that I have a problem with it...but it would have been nice to have seen another male Witch around).

Second, I wasn't exactly a part of this world to begin with.

I'm still a little fuzzy on the details, but I had fallen asleep at the computer one night when a Neuroi core somehow found its way to my computer screen, fused with me, and warped us both to the time of World War Two...minus the whole war. Instead, humanity had been busy fighting a group of aliens known as, you guessed it, Neuroi.

I spent two months unconscious before waking up in an orphanage. I then joined the army and trained for four months, mixing in traditional training with training for Witches thanks to Commander Hannah Ellios and Lieutenant Kayley Nova.

Then, what became known as the _Ascension_ incident happened...

That battle marked my first Neuroi kill...and the first casualty of the war that I personally witnessed in my life, the death of Commander Ellios.

A week later, and I was scouted by Minna for the Strike Witches. Before I left, General Weiss gave me what would change my life: a prototype Striker Unit that would allow me to be able to wear a pair of cargo pants while still being able to fly it effectively.

Over the course of my time in the Strike Witches, I had shared lots of good memories as well as some bad ones...and some that for some reason I still can't get out of my mind sometimes. Thanks, Mio.

Anyways, where was I in my story? Oh yeah, the events...see, as I explained, Yoshika and I went into a Neuroi nest after Mio got hurt and Minna grounded us. In there, we learned some sort of prophesy that the Neuroi seemed to believe as well as saying something about the future marking our deaths. When we were found by the others and taken back to the base, General Moron (sorry, Maloney) dissolved the Strike Witches and took control of the base, me revealing my secret to the others. It took a while, but it seemed that everyone had come to trust me still...even if only a little.

Between getting into the base to find evidence we needed to prove Maloney's guilt, learning about what occurred in the time lapse I had due to being unconscious, and my secret being revealed, we all managed to come together to defeat the Warlock at the cost of destroying the _Akagi_.

However, that wasn't all we sacrificed.

Yoshika and I, though we had managed to help save everyone in Britannia as well as the crew of the _Akagi_, had been dishonorably discharged, and the team was still disbanded. Before everyone went their separate way, though, Air Commodore Adolfine Galland offered me a job: morale support.

Which had been what I was doing to pass the time.

Until about two weeks ago, I had been doing my duty when I received two letters, one of them from Doctor Ichirō Miyafuji. About six days after that point, I was asked by Adolfine to head to Fuso for some morale rallies.

That explains why I was wandering around out here with a map a little. I had gotten a day off before I started on the medley of rallies, and I was going to try using it to spend some time with some friends...

The only problem was that I had no idea how to read Fuso, so I was stuck trying to find my way to my destination.

Kinda odd how this guy can walk around with a Neuroi core and feel rather normal yet not have a clue how to read a map written in Fuso.

"Let's see..." I said as I studied the map a lot more intently. "It says that I'm somewhere near...um..." I looked around. I could see what I might describe as being chrysanthemum trees or something to the left of me, and I guess some farmland or something to my right. I don't really know: I wasn't a botanist by trade, but there were a lot of pink flowers growing on the trees. That, and I couldn't tell if it was really farmland; lots of water, though, so...who knows? "I'm just going to call it 'The Pink Tree Road' for now. Now, this place here...whatever it is..." I blinked as I lowered the map and sighed. "Why me?"

This would be a lot more helpful if I had been tackled to the ground by Yoshika right now. Or someone I knew.

I looked back at the map and continued walking down the path, determined to figure out where the hell I was.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's__ POV_

"This is amazing!" I shouted as I ran ahead of Michiko some time after our school's graduation ceremony. We were travelling down a trail that had cherry trees on the side of the path. "It's raining cherry blossoms! Come on, Michiko!" I stopped to let her catch up.

Michiko stopped as I turned around to look at her.

"Yoshika?" she asked me. "You're really serious about not continuing school after we graduate?"

I looked at her with a slight sadness as I told her, "The family clinic will be mine to run someday." I then smiled and closed my eyes as my cheeks turned red. "The only thing I've ever wanted to do was save lives!"

When I opened my eyes again, Michiko looked sad. "I guess this is our last time walking home together."

I know, but let's focus on the positive things right now. I won't forget you. Just like I won't forget Roland or the others in the Strike Witches either.

Just then, we started hearing a tractor of some kind driving toward us as a man's voice called out, "Hello, Michiko!"

"Grandpa!" Michiko said as she turned around to look at the approaching vehicle and waved to her grandpa. "Hey!"

"Yes, my girl!"

A while later, and Michiko and I were riding on the back of her grandpa's trailer, our bags sitting on top of the produce Michiko's grandpa was trailing behind him.

"I got my letter," Michiko told me. "I start at the teacher's school in Yokohama in the spring."

"Wow, that's so cool!" I said excitedly.

"If you like books, it is."

We heard her grandpa laugh as he replied with, "My little peanut always did love to study ever since she was a rugrat."

"I can't believe you're gonna be a teacher!" I added with a smile.

"You're the future doctor who's going to have her very own clinic to run," Michiko told me.

"Yeah, that's right. A doctor..." I thought about something. For some reason, I thought about Roland: I know it's been a while since I last saw him, but I wonder how he's doing...

Suddenly, I felt that the vehicle was slowing down for some reason, but I didn't really pay attention.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

It had been a few minutes after I said something about Yoshika, and I was still hopelessly lost.

At least I could see a city not far in front of me. About...three miles? I have no idea, I've been walking for a while.

Anyways, I had reached a sort of T-section in the dirt road and was still studying my map when I started hearing some voices and an engine.

"...who's going to have her very own clinic to run," one female voice said.

"Yeah, that's right. A doctor..." another, more familiar voice, replied.

Soon, the vehicle stopped next to me, and I followed suit, folding the map into thirds before folding it in half and sticking it inside my right leg pocket.

"Hey there," an elderly-looking man said as I looked at the driver. Like I said, he was elderly (don't know how old he was, and I wasn't going to pry), and he had a light-gray, long-sleeved, collared shirt on with a white towel behind his neck. He wore brown pants and had black boots on (the boots looked like they were for the rain or something to me). He was also driving what I could only guess was a sort of tractor with a trailer hitched to the back. "What are you doing walking by yourself?"

"Huh?" I asked as I blinked. Focus...stay calm... "Oh, I was heading somewhere...but I kinda got lost..."

"I see. Where are you from?"

Don't say 'United States of America'. Don't say 'United States of America'. "Uh, the United States of Liberion?"

"Oh. Tourist?"

Good. I had figured out the countries' names here when I discovered what world I was in, but with my memories from my world still with me I couldn't risk saying the wrong name. Especially if that country is the first one to pop up in my head sometimes. "Not exactly. I was kinda sent here for some business, but I have a day off today. I tried a map, but I can't read it very well. You don't happen to know how to read Fuso, do you?"

"Hmm...I can take you into town if you're heading that way. I was heading in that direction myself."

"Uh, thanks. I could really use the ride, sir. If you really want to."

"I'm sure of it. Can't have you walking around and getting into trouble, even if you're young enough to stand that sort of exercise." Ha ha...you have no idea what I've been through before about six months ago. Have I ever told you about the girls I worked with? "My granddaughter and her friend are in the back. Why don't you sit back there and chat with them?" He hitched his right thumb behind him with a smile.

I looked in the direction of his thumb and noticed that there were two girls sitting on the back of the trailer, wearing what I would call sailor uniforms. There was also produce in the trailer. One had short auburn hair while the other looked like it was more of a raven color as well as being longer. Way longer. "Uh, sure thing." I walked toward the back before I stopped. "Oh, and thanks so much, sir."

"Not a problem, my boy."

As I walked to the back, I looked at the produce. I wasn't sure, but he had either lettuce or cabbage in the back. I think it was lettuce. There were also two saddle bags sitting behind the girls, each one with a black tube-like object sticking out. I simply set the backpack next to the bags.

"Hey there," I said as I approached the back and was visible to the girls, coming to a stop in front of them. "Your grandpa said that he could give me a ride, and-" I stopped as I looked at the one with the auburn hair. We blinked at each other for a few seconds before one of us made the first move.

"Roland-kun!" the auburn-haired girl cried in glee as she tackled me to the ground. Due to my luck with girls around here, my sight was soon blotted out, and I was left with feeling something...soft over my face. "Roland-kun! I can't believe you're here!"

"Uh, thanks..." I said slowly as I tapped her right shoulder blindly. "...Yosh? Can you get off me now, please?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm so sorry about that," Yoshika said as we were on the road again. She looked embarrassed, something I was still showing on my face. "Usually I don't do something like that..."

"Good to know that I still can't seem to avoid embarrassing moments with you girls," I said dryly. Though it was true: from seeing girls in the bath to having a hand or my face in the vicinity of one of their chests, I never seem to avoid things like that. Cue what happened lately.

At least she's grown a little...

Hang on, what the hell am I saying? She's fifteen, you idiot! Besides, she's one of-well, used to be one of your teammates!

"I'm sorry if Yoshika offended you," the girl with Yoshika said as she bowed slightly. "I hope you don't hate her for it."

"Uh, how can I hate one of my own teammates?" I asked, confused. I then gave off a slight smile. "Besides, believe me when I say that what Yoshika just did wasn't bad compared to some of the other moments I could think of."

I swear the girl's almost steel-colored eyes blinked in total surprise. "Wait, you know Yoshika?"

"Yeah." I then closed my eyes and flashed a cheesy smile. "My name's Roland Sage. I was a lieutenant in the Strike Witches, and the sole male of the group."

"Roland...Sage?"

I looked at Yoshika's friend carefully.

"I'm sorry, miss," I said. "Have we met before?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said as she bowed slightly. "My name's Michiko Yamakawa."

"Like I said, I'm Roland." I set my right hand out for a handshake as Michiko lifted her head to look at me.

"It's an honor to meet you, Roland-san." She grabbed the hand gently and shook it.

"Just Roland is fine, Michiko." I retracted my hand and stuck it in my right side pocket. I so need to learn Fuso when I get a chance.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"He's a good friend," the little Fuso Witch from the team said as she looked at me. "Roland-kun's been keeping an eye on me since I first met him...minus the last six months."

"Uh, yeah..." I said sheepishly as I placed a hand on the back of my head. "I wished I could have come sooner, but you know Commodore Galland...then again, you probably don't. Suffice to say that this is the first time I've swung by Fuso."

Though, to be honest... I did have some doubt about coming here...

XXXXXXXXXX

"I know that I'm helping morale by doing these rallies," were the words I had started with when Adolfine had first told me about the news of me heading to Fuso, "but...couldn't you tell me about this a little sooner?"

"You know," Adolfine told me as I stood inside her office on the base she was at currently, "I would have thought you would have been more agreeing with this. What, you don't want to see some old faces?"

"Ma'am, don't get me wrong. I'm not hating the idea of seeing Yoshika and the major again...but it's been six months..." They had time to think about me and my secret...have they lost my trust in the meantime?

"All the more reason to see them again. I seem to recall that they were arguing over who would be housing you, if I'm not mistaken."

"Don't remind me..." Geez, did she really have to bring that up? Listening to eleven cute girls trying to settle something happening to me was not something I really enjoyed. "I mean, again, don't get me wrong. It's just..."

My mind drifted to Minna for a split second. The commander had been the most affected when I revealed my secret...but she had been the one who allowed me back on the team. If it wasn't for her...

"Thinking about Wilcke, are we?" Adolfine asked me.

"Yeah," I told her as I shook my head. "I guess I was. Just a little. Anyways, why Fuso? You could send me anywhere. Why there?"

"I'm sure the people in Fuso would like to know that we're fighting the Neuroi with everything we've got and winning."

"Uh...if we're doing that, then..."

Adolfine looked at me quickly. She's gotten used to me trying to ask dumb questions. "Don't ask, lieutenant."

"Uh, I'm not exactly in the army anymore, remember, ma'am?"

"I understand. Though at this rate, you might as well be."

There was something with her statement... "Ma'am?"

Adolfine shook her head. "Nothing. So, any objections I should know about?"

"No, ma'am!" I saluted quickly. "I'll be on my way to Fuso."

"Good to hear." Adolfine nodded her head as I lowered my salute. "Oh, and lieutenant? Be sure to say hi to the Fuso Witches for me when you get a chance."

You mean Yoshika and Mio? "Yes, ma'am."

XXXXXXXXXX

You know, thinking about that reminded me...

"Oh, Yosh?" I asked quickly. "Air Commodore Galland said hi."

"Who?" Yoshika asked me quickly.

I sighed. "The head of the Witch Corps? That Witch who came into the dining hall the day you girls talked about where I was going to head?"

Yoshika nodded in understanding. "Oh, the commodore! Wonder why she wanted to say hi..."

I shook my head gently. It generally took Yoshika some time to store information...or at least to remember them. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

Yoshika was looking at the road ahead, and she soon spotted something. "Look, a warship!"

"Yeah!" Michiko said as we joined her in looking. "It's the battleship _Yamato_. Two hundred sixty meters long, with a maximum power output of a hundred and fifty-three thousand horsepower. It's the flagship of our allied fleet. It's just awesome!"

"Looks like it beats the _Ascension_ in size," I added as I studied the ship. "Then again, the ship I served on was a carrier."

"I think I read something in the newspaper about its next assignment being in the Mediterranean Sea," the driver, who I learned was Michiko's grandpa, said as a sort of filler.

I looked at Yoshika as she thought about what he said.

"Europe, huh?" she asked. "That ship's actually going to Europe?"

"I guess so," I told her. Seeing as I was just around that area, I knew where he was talking about. But why is Yoshika looking like she's worrying about something?

Suddenly, Michiko's grandpa gave off a yell as the vehicle had its brakes applied quickly. This sent us flying back into the produce, the girls screaming while I only grunted in surprise. The first one to recover was Michiko, followed by me a split second later.

"What's going on, grandpa?" Michiko asked as we grabbed a hold of the bar behind her grandpa and looked ahead. We were soon joined by Yoshika, and the girls gasped. Lying in the road was a small, brown-coated bear.

"It's a bear," Yoshika pointed out.

"Uh, what's a bear cub doing this close to a town?" I asked in confusion. Didn't wild animals generally avoid human settlements?

"It looks like it's injured," Michiko added. "That's so sad."

Yoshika and I jumped out of the trailer and ran to the cub, Michiko following a second later. Her grandpa was telling us to come back due to the fact that it was too dangerous. Yoshika and I knelt down next to the cub.

"It's okay," Yoshika told it calmly. "You're gonna feel a lot better soon." She soon focused, and I looked on as her familiar started to appear and the area was covered in a blue dome of light.

"Hurry up and save it, okay?" Michiko said for support.

Soon, we heard growling as well as Michiko screaming, and we looked ahead to see a much-bigger bear.

"I'm going to assume that this is the cub that belongs to that bear," I said with a sigh.

We all stayed where we were, Yoshika too surprised to do much, Michiko too scared to run, and the bear growling. Even I was a little concerned about what to do: should I throw something at it? Should I tell it a bad pun? Ugh! The only real thing I could do was try making myself look big, but...hang on a moment...

I knew what the grandpa did: he grabbed Michiko and pulled her back, confirming what I thought. I got onto my feet slowly so as not to give the mother bear any reason to attack early.

"Not yet," I heard Yoshika say. I think she was directing it to the bear in front of us. "I'm not done yet. Just a little more..."

I don't think she's going to have a little more time for this, and I was right as the bear reared up onto its hind feet.

I darted in front of Yoshika as I placed my right hand on the hilt of my sword.

"Don't you dare try attacking," I told it angrily as I gave off a red aura that wrapped around my body. "We're not trying to hurt your cub. We're trying to help it. At least show us some kindness and stand down."

"Roland!" Michiko shouted. "Don't do it!"

"I don't have a choice, do I?" I lowered my eyebrows. "I may not be a member of the Strike Witches anymore, but I'll be damned if I let one of those girls get hurt! Especially in front of me!"

Suddenly, the blue aura disappeared, leaving the bear as well as myself confused. When I lowered my own aura and looked, the cub was sitting in front of Yoshika, who was giggling. I let go of the hilt and stepped aside as the mother lowered herself back down to four feet and approached the little Fuso Witch. The bear then grabbed her cub by the scruff with her mouth before taking it into the bushes with her as they left. As she went by me, the mother bear looked at me and grunted softly.

Did I get a grunt from a bear, and a _mother_ bear of all things?

"She's really something..." I heard Michiko's grandpa say.

"Yoshika!" Michiko added as I saw her run to her friend.

I was struck dumb: how in the hell did she do it so quickly, and without fainting to boot? Yeah, it was a little bear cub, but...the last time she healed something or someone was when she tried healing Mio. And that knocked her out if not nearly killed her.

Then again, I had something else on my mind...

"Uh, sorry, Yosh," I said as I looked at the girl, who was looking at where the bears entered the bushes. "I kinda overreacted back there. I hope you can forgive me."

"I can't believe you did that," Michiko said as she reached Yoshika before kneeling down to her level. She then noticed the blank look. "What's going on?"

Yoshika started laughing a little hysterically, and I looked at her in bafflement. What's wrong with her now?

"Wow! That was scary!" she said to her friend before she resumed laughing.

I sighed immediately after: she was just threatened with danger, and she was laughing? I think she finally broke...hang on, she's _laughing?!_

"That was scary?" I said quickly. "You weren't going to be the first thing it would have hit at that point!"

"I'm sorry," Yoshika apologized once she stopped laughing. "I know that you would have been hurt first. Oh...thanks." She smiled. "It's alright how you reacted. After all, I don't mind you trying to protect us."

I blushed slightly. "Uh, thanks, Yosh..."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

_Hey dad. I graduated from junior high school today. It's time to make good on that promise I made you._

I was thinking that as I was sitting at a table in the clinic, a picture of my dad in my hands. Roland was sitting across from me, his knapsack next to him.

_The clinic will be my life. I'll give my gift to everyone who needs it. All in honor of you._

I moved the picture to see the rest of the pictures, and the next one was Major Sakamoto alongside my dad and a Striker Unit.

_Major Sakamoto...I can't believe it's been six months since the battle for Britannia ended._

I recalled my first fight against the Neuroi as well as the fight I had going up against the Neuroified Warlock before Roland stepped in.

_And it all started with just this letter, didn't it?_

I looked across and at Roland, who was busy writing down something on a piece of paper.

_And him...I guess without Roland-kun around, it would have been quieter around the base._

I soon remembered everything we did together: when he and I helped Lynne with her first Neuroi shoot-down, when Captain Barkhorn was injured, Shirley's speed record, night patrol...everything.

I smiled before I heard Michiko call for my help. She was holding an injured bird in her hands.

Soon, I had healed the bird and released it back into the air, and it soon flew off while we stood outside.

"Wow, isn't that amazing?" I said in awe.

"Thank you for saving him," Michiko said in gratitude.

Roland was simply looking into the sky, deep in thought about something.

Suddenly, there was a quick twinkle as something came crashing down into the ground.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I was soon snapped out of my thoughts by a crash.

"What the hell was that?" I asked quickly as I looked at the girls, who were cringing in surprise.

We looked around and saw a set of Striker Units poking out of some bushes.

"Again?" I asked. The last time this happened was about two weeks ago, when I got those letters...

"Huh?" Yoshika asked, ignoring my question. "What's that?"

We approached the crashed object and made it out to be a Witch.

"Ow..." I heard her groan as she sat up. She looked like she was of Karlsland descent or something with the clothes she had on: she was wearing a sage-colored (after I gave the color some thought) military jacket, and she had the ears and tail of a fox (colored like Fox McCloud's) as she lied there in the bush. She wore a pair of glasses that were now misaligned on her face, which gave me a little better view of her eye color, which I could describe as being steel-colored (or close to it). Her dark gray hair was also rather messed up, probably from the crash landing she performed. Though it didn't help the fact that I had a clear view of white panties...and now that blush is returning to my face.

Hang on...she looks familiar...

"Amaki?" I asked, the blush still on my face. Why was it I wasn't blushing when I was looking at Yoshika? Or Michiko, for that matter? Oh, wait...swimsuit...I think...

"You know her, Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked me in surprise.

Before I could reply, Amaki had gotten up quickly and introduced herself to the girls before looking at me.

"Oh, hey there, Roland," Amaki greeted.

"I thought you were delivering a letter to Yoshika," I said to her. That was two weeks ago, and you just arrived now? What, did you get sidetracked with something involving traffic? It's the stinking sky, for crying out loud! Can't go straight? Try going up or down.

"Well, I kinda had to take some detours. It's been what, two weeks since?"

I blinked. I know it was about six months after the last campaign, but (and this was a bigger concern than the detours she had to use)...how the hell did I converge on the ending from the first season? I thought we had passed that point! "Uh...I guess?"

"By the way..."

I didn't let her finish, for I simply pointed at Yoshika. "Yoshika Miyafuji. Right here, Amaki." I sighed: I was still hung up on the time difference.

"Whoa, thank goodness!" Amaki produced a letter and presented it to Yoshika. "I have a letter for you, from your dad."

Yoshika was surprised. A lot.

Me? Not so much...

XXXXXXXXXX

A while later, and Yoshika had called for her mom and grandma to join us outside as we stared at some blueprints for something.

"What is this?" the little Fuso Witch asked.

"Looks like plans of some kind," her mom replied.

"I agree," I said. I have no idea what I was looking at, but I think I know a blueprint when I see one.

"I have no idea what it's for," her grandma added.

Yoshika and I looked at Amaki.

"So uh, did they tell you what this was?" Yoshika asked.

"My orders were simply to deliver the letter to you," Amaki replied. "Unfortunately, they didn't give me any details about its contents. I'm sorry. The funny part was that I had to deliver Roland's as well."

Yoshika then looked at me. "You got something from Dad?"

I nodded as I took my backpack off my back and fished out the letter I had received. I opened up the letter and pulled out my diagnostics.

"I did, Yosh," I told the little Fuso Witch. "It's...well, I'd like it if you took a look at it. Just yourself."

Yoshika walked up to me as she examined the contents I pulled out and said, "Well, if Dad sent you something, then maybe there's something he's trying to show us."

"But I fail to see how those blueprints line up against this." Considering that I had my diagnostics on hand, how did they fit with blueprints? Unless it was a plan for me...

"Why would my husband mail you something?" Yoshika's mom asked me as I looked at her. "He died before Yoshika met you."

"I have no idea, ma'am," I replied as I put the diagnostics away. "Unless there's some sort of connection between what he sent me and those blueprints..."

Nah. It wouldn't even begin to make sense: why give Yoshika blueprints and me diagnostics? Something really doesn't add up...

Yoshika had an idea: "I know! Major Sakamoto used to work with my dad! Maybe she can figure it out!"

Makes sense. It was Mio that had met Yoshika before they met me. IF she can't help us out, then I guess I can say we're screwed as far as getting answers go.

"Hang on!" Amaki said in surprise. "You mean Major Sakamoto from the naval academy?"

"Depends," I said. "Wears an eye patch over her right eye? Wields a katana? Has a...distinct laugh?"

"Yes!" Yoshika replied to Amaki's question. "I'll go see her tomorrow!"

"And I'm going to come with you," Michiko added.

"Same here," I continued. "I may have things to do, but I'm sure the commodore can understand if I take a side-trip."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

The next day, Michiko, Roland, and I went off to the naval academy to find the major, the former lieutenant having brought his backpack and sword with him. We approached the gates and were saluted by the guard that was there. I asked him if he knew where Major Sakamoto was, and he was kind enough to tell me to wait in the storage hangar for a while. Michiko thanked him afterwards.

Now we were walking toward a set of flags above the entrance to the main building.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Major Sakamoto," I said to my friends.

"It was so cool!" Michiko replied. "Those guards let us go right through those gates."

"But how come?" Roland asked, trying to understand why. He hitched his backpack up a little higher on his back.

"I am still commissioned as a reserve officer," I explained.

"Right...I forgot about that...hang on, you're still a part of the military?" Roland sounded surprised. "I thought you were...?"

"Major Sakamoto made sure of that."

The boy blinked. "Good ol' Sakamoto, huh?"

"Wow," Michiko said. "Isn't she the one everyone's so scared of because she's so mean?"

"Not at all!" Roland and I both told her. I added in, "She can be strict, but deep down she's nice. Although when I first left she did warn me not to come to the base again."

"Huh? How come?"

I looked down. "I don't know." I then looked ahead and saw a storage hangar up ahead. "Wait, I think we're here."

"Really?" Michiko asked as we walked to it and went inside.

"Yep," I replied. "They told us to wait in the storage hangar."

We looked around. It certainly looked like a storage hangar, I'll give it that much: it had boxes off to the side, it had almost no light spots (the only light being the open hangar doors), and it was very spacy.

"Lots of room to move, at least," Roland said simply. "The boxes are a nice touch. Though the darkness is something I'd address at some point."

We looked around before Roland and I spotted something, and we gasped. Up ahead was a Striker Unit, and once we approached it I concluded that it was Mio's.

"Hey, didn't you used to fly around with one of these things back when you were fighting with the Strike Witches?" Michiko asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "It brings back lots of memories..."

"Same here..." Roland added. "Though mine was...different..."

Right, I forgot that Roland's Striker Unit was the oddball of our group of Striker Units: while ours were sitting on a stand like the one Mio's was on, Roland's was...I guess it could be considered invisible. In fact, the only way we can see it for ourselves was if Roland called upon it. I'm not really sure about how it was possible, but Roland had to send energy into his watch in order to call it out.

Suddenly, my ears picked up something moving, and light flooded into the hangar.

"Forgive my tardiness," a man's voice.

We turned around and saw a young man standing there in uniform and a military cap.

"Sergeant Hijikata!" I said quickly.

"It's good to see you again," the man, Hijikata, replied as he walked up to us. "I'm sorry, Miyafuji. You came all this way, but I'm afraid the major went on leave some time ago."

"On leave?" Roland asked.

"So where can we find her?" I added.

"I don't know where she is," Hijikata replied. "She left her teaching position at the Witch Academy earlier this year, but she does keep in contact with me on a regular basis."

I thought about something, and I fished out my dad's letter. "Well, tell her that I got a letter from my father yesterday."

"You got a letter from Doctor Miyafuji?"

"Yeah," Roland said. "The mail system is as sterling as ever, I guess." I'm not sure if he was saying that sarcastically or not. That, and he could have handed his to the guy as well, but I don't think he really wanted to risk somebody outside of the Strike Witches learning about his secret.

Hijikata grabbed the envelope and looked at it. "I'm sorry, but that has to be impossible. He passed away."

"Yeah, we can't explain it either."

"But Major Sakamoto was very close to my father," I added. "So...I thought she might be able to help us figure it out."

"I believe you're right," Hijikata replied. "I'll be sure to give her this letter as soon as she returns to base."

"That's great!" I bowed slightly. "I knew you could help."

"That was easier than I thought," Michiko said.

Roland and I nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Yoshika!" another male voice called out.

We looked at the windows and saw some men standing there, looking inside.

"Long time, no see." another man said.

"Our sweet rice cakes just haven't tasted as good without you around," a third one added. "How about making us some?"

The men laughed.

I was blushing as Roland looked at me.

"What have you been doing since I left?" he decided to ask. His face looked like he was trying to piece together what I had been doing since we last met.

"Everybody here really likes you," Michiko observed.

"No," I said in embarrassment as I took a sudden interest in my hands. "They say that to all the girls."

"Right..." Roland said as he eyed me while crossing his arms. "I'm certain not all girls are like you."

My blush became deeper as I turned my head away from Roland.

"Sergeant Hijikata!" a man said as he reached the hangar door. "There's an emergency flash from Gallia Command!"

This was surprising to Roland and myself.

"Gallia?" we asked as one.

"What is it?" Hijikata asked.

"There's been a major change of status with the European Neuroi." the man replied.

"I'm on my way."

Roland gritted his teeth as he looked at me. I was shocked about what the man said.

If I had to take a guess, we were both thinking the same thing: _Not the Neuroi..._

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

A while later, and we were standing at the doorframe to the radio room as Hijikata and the operator were discussing the emergency. I had my bag as well as my sword with me.

"It's from the Witches at Gallia Station," the operator said. "'Report to all allied force commanders: unexpected Neuroi contact above Venezia yesterday, with a far greater strike capability than previous encounters, completely overwhelming Venezia in a single day. The Five Hundred and Fourth Joint Fighter Wing protecting Romagna engaged them but suffered heavy losses and could no longer maintain a defense."

Venezia? Where was that?

Yoshika gasped as Hijikata couldn't believe what he heard.

"Hold on, did you say Romagna's Five Hundred and Fourth Joint Fighter Wing?" he asked. "We have a regiment of Witches from the Fuso Navy currently stationed with that unit."

Wait, Five Hundred and Fourth?

"But aren't some of your friends in Gallia, Yoshika?" Michiko asked.

Yoshika couldn't answer that, and neither could I. While every Witch we knew who was stationed within Europe in general was in danger, if we're taking about Gallia...

No...

Are Minna and the others going to try to fight the Neuroi without us?

Hijikata picked up the phone and said, "This is Sergeant Hijikata from Fuso. What is the status of Romagna's Five Hundred and Fourth Fighter Wing, over?"

It took a while for someone to reply, and when they did the voice sounded familiar. Extremely familiar.

"This is Gallia Command," the voice said. "Sergeant Lynette Bishop of the Britannia Air Force reporting."

Yoshika gasped.

"Gimme that!" I said quickly as I rushed in and wrenched the phone form Hijikata. I placed the phone to my right ear and talked into it. "Lynne, this is Roland Sage here. Status, over!" I made sure to make my voice sound like this was a do-or-die moment right now.

Lynette took a while before she replied with, "We have no status updates, Roland. All attempts to reach Romagna have failed. We've received a request for Witch reinforcement, but we don't have enough reserve available to back them up."

"Not enough reserve?"

I growled as I lowered the phone so Hijikata could say something.

"I don't care," he said. "You have to send them whatever you've got, over."

"No!" Lynette's voice said before it went blank for some reason. "...wait..."

"Repeat that last part, Lynne," I said into the phone as the operator was fiddling with some knobs. "Lynne, can you read me, over?"

"It's no use," the operator said quickly. "The ionosphere is lit up like a Christmas tree. She's gone."

"Damn, we're cut off," Hijikata concluded as I lowered the phone.

"Damn it all..." I growled as I looked at Yoshika, who looked very worried.

"Don't give up," Yoshika pleaded desperately. "Please try to reach her again. Lynne, Roland-kun and I fought in the battle over Britannia together."

I knew how she was feeling right now. Of all the times to be out of Europe...

"Try raising her again," Hijikata told the operator.

"I'll do my best," the operator replied as he tried raising Lynette again and I handed the phone to Yoshika. "This is the Yakusoba base of the Fuso Navy. Come in, Gallia Command. Do you read me?"

"Please, Lynne..." I heard Yoshika say in slight fear.

_Come on..._ I thought as I gritted my teeth. _We've got enough problems as it is with another Neuroi invasion or something. We don't need downed communications to add to the bill!_

"This is the Fuso Navy, do you read?" the operator added.

"Come on, Lynne," Yoshika pleaded into the phone. "You have to say something, please."

I suddenly heard a switch being thrown, and I looked near Yoshika. There was a newcomer, and I gasped. It was a young woman with a eye patch over her right eye. She was covered in a brown cloak of some sort, and there was a katana strapped across her back.

Holy...shit...based on the fact that she didn't look too happy, I could tell that this could get ugly...

"Major Sakamoto!" I said in surprise.

Then again, this was Mio Sakamoto we were talking about here!

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Well, there goes the first chapter of the sequel to my first story.**

**The only thing I can say is that it's going to be a challenge to make this story keep up with its predecessor. However, I like the challenge itself: it gives me an opportunity to forge the story the way I can see it going.**

**Anyways, that's about it. Ultimately, no matter what I do, how I did with this chapter rests in your reviews. So please read and respond.**

**Thank you, and I hope to see you in the next chapter.**


	2. Being a Witch Once Again (Part 2)

**Alright, here comes the next chapter in the story.**

**Like I did for the first story, I'll answer the reviews first:**

_majoramiruddin_**: Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy reading this story as it develops.**

_chimeraguard_**: Thanks for tuning back in for the sequel. I really hope this story will be as good as its predecessor. As for the rest of your review, see the response below for your answers (or at least some of them).**

_New Universe_ _Returns_**: It's hard to know what exactly Roland's planning to do with revealing his world's history. Considering that his secret had been revealed to the Strike Witches back in the first one (_Strike Heroes_), it's not far-fetched that he'll try to explain some of the key differences between the two versions of the 1940s. On the other hand, we are talking about a guy who calls the "HP" in "Browning HP" as "Hand Pistol", so he might not have very good luck. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review, and I hope the next chapter is as good as the last one.**

_Dragonman75_**: Thanks for the positive response. Roland's beginning in this story was a little tricky to do, but it's great to hear it worked out well.**

**Well, that's about it...**

**With that done, I present the next chapter. Let's go back to where we were last...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 2: Being a Witch Once Again (Part 2)**

"Miyafuji," Mio said as she looked at us. She was definitely not in a good mood. "Sage. Why are you here?"

Wait, why am I trying to compare voices? We've got more pressing issues to deal with!

"Why are we here?" I asked in surprise. "Why are _you_ here? We were told you were off somewhere for a while." Hijikata even told us you were.

"Sakamoto..." Yoshika said in surprise. "You came back. We just lost contact with Lynne! She said the Neuroi have come back!"

"That is none of your concern!" Mio snapped.

"Europe's in trouble, and you're saying it's none of our concern?" I asked.

"But Lynne's our friend!" Yoshika added. "We can't sit and do nothing!"

"I agree with Yosh. We can't just stay here and not do anything."

It was only then that the only other girl in the room decided to say something.

"Please don't go," Michiko said.

Mio and I looked at Michiko briefly before I looked at the major.

"So, she's your friend?" the major said as she closed her eyes. "Well, it appears that you're both still as stubborn as ever. The Fuso Navy can handle the Neuroi crisis in Europe _without_ your assistance." She then looked at Yoshika specifically. "Go home, Miyafuji. You're not a soldier anymore. You don't belong here." She then looked at me. "I don't know why you're here, but I want you to escort Miyafuji home and keep an eye on her. Go! That's an order!"'

I was about to retort with something, but I had to bite my tongue or risk Mio's wrath (or the receiving end of her katana scabbard, whichever was first).

"Major Sakamoto..." Yoshika tried to say.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, and we were standing outside the base, the gates now closed.

"Ugh!" I said as I sighed in "relief". I stamped the ground with my right foot in frustration. "She's really gone off the deep end, huh?" I then looked at Yoshika, whose head was hung low, like she was depressed. "Yosh?" It must have been harsh on her, being forced to go home by Mio...

The little Fuso Witch said nothing. Instead, she simply walked off. Michiko and I followed close behind her.

"Is she alright?" her friend asked me, sounding worried.

I frowned as I replied with, "I'm not sure, Michiko."

I closed my eyes and breathed in as I read Yoshika's aura. I could sense blue in her. A sad shade of blue.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

"The Fuso Navy will now embark on an emergency operation to assist Europe," I told Sergeant Hijikata as we walked down the hallway after throwing Miyafuji, her friend, and Sage off the base.

"Yes, ma'am," Hijikata replied.

I then pulled out the blueprints from the letter Miyafuji had given me via Hijikata.

_Another mysterious letter from the professor,_ I thought. _Does this signal the start of a new battle?_ I then thought about the fact that Sage had been in the room with us. _And what about Sage? Does he know what's going to happen?_

"Sergeant," I said as I held out the letter for Hijikata to grab. "Send this letter to the lab for analysis."

I felt Hijikata grab it out of my hand gently. "Understood."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

Out by the docks, at a rather high vantage point, we watched as a sea plane came in for a landing in the water.

"Wow, that sea plane is enormous," Michiko said as we watched said sea plane land on the water and go towards the docks.

"Yeah..." I said softly. _I see_ now... I thought. A_ plane that size can reach Europe in a couple of days or less._

I looked at Roland, who was leaning on the rail as his head rested on top of his arms, looking like he was worried about something.

I then looked down at the dock and gasped. There was a crane lifting up a Striker Unit for loading onto the sea plane when it came close enough. I looked closer and saw that it was the same Striker Unit from before.

"Look," I said as I watched them pick it up. "It's a Striker Unit! The newest model!"

"So?" Roland asked as he lifted his head and looked at where I was looking. "There has to be replacements, right? What's so special about this one?"

"What's the matter, Yoshika?" Michiko asked me.

I put the pieces together and realized something: "She's gonna fly..." That Striker Unit, the very one I had saw...it was for her!

"Huh?" Michiko sounded confused.

Roland sounded more surprised as he stood up straight and said, "What? She's going to take to the skies? Doesn't she remember her condition from last time?" The last time we saw the major in the air before everything happened with the Warlock, she had been shot down by a Neuroi via a flaw in her shield.

"The major's planning to fight the Neuroi again without her shield working," I said in conclusion. "There's no way she can survive the battle without it!"

I then took off toward the base. Whatever happened, I had to tell Sakamoto not to go to Europe.

"Where are you going?" Michiko asked me as I ran.

"Yosh, wait!" I heard Roland say as he gave chase.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

"Major, if I may," Hijikata said as we boarded the sea plane, "why did you send Yoshika home? She's practically a war hero."

I took the katana (scabbard and all) off my back as I sat down and used it as a sort of crutch while sitting, both hands holding it. I closed my eyes in brief thought.

"She served the Strike Witches very well," I told him. "And she fulfilled her duty." I opened my eyes halfway. "Now she's done."

"And the man with her?" Hijikata added.

"He's a friend of ours, but he didn't exactly plan to be in the military. Only because he felt that something needed to be done." I wasn't sure if that was why Sage first joined the military, but since Commander Minna first introduced him to the rest of us on that fateful day he had been working extra hard to keep us safe. Not to mention trying to preserve his secret before he blurted it out while he was in a state of fury due to Maloney revealing some things to him. Because of that...besides, I didn't want to send him with Miyafuji to keep an eye on her. Hell, he could be of some use to us for this battle, but it was the only way. He had said once that all he asked for was a normal life. While I can't grant him that completely, the only chance he had was to not be inside this conflict. Besides, he'll see us again at some point...when we retire or something.

"The Striker Unit is now loaded," one of the personnel said as the Striker Unit was set inside the plane. "Transportation complete."

The pilot confirmed that they were ready to take off.

I looked up with determination as I gave the words: "Engines on!"

As I heard the engines roar to life, I found myself thinking of something.

_Sage..._ I thought. _You've got no more problems. You no longer have a script to read or memorize. You're a free man now..._

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"Wait up, Yosh!" I called out as I was trailing behind the little Fuso Witch. It was taking all I had to be able to keep up with my bag and the sword banging against my back. This really reminded me of when I had to catch the bus during high school.

Soon, we could hear the familiar sound of plane engines roaring to life, and we looked to our right in time to see the sea plane taking off and flying away.

"Sakamoto, don't!" Yoshika called out in worry.

"Yosh, what are you planning?" I asked, but I never received an answer.

A few minutes later, and we had reached a fence around the base. As I ran toward the fence, I watched as Yoshika found a secret spot behind a bush and crawled onto the base, standing up and running toward the storage hangar.

I called upon what training I had retained and jumped onto the fence, climbing up it as fast as possible so as not to lose a lot of distance between me and the little Fuso Witch. Once I reached the top, I hopped down and landed as softly as I could (which wasn't a whole lot) as I resumed my chase. I managed to catch up to her as she opened the hangar door, and I looked inside. Apparently, some of the maintainance crew were busy getting ready to begin (or finishing up with, or were in the process of doing) work on Yoshika's Striker Unit. While one question I wanted to ask was how her Striker Unit was still here when she used it to destroy a Neuroi core at the end of the first season, the more demanding one was what she was planning on doing.

"What are you doing here?" one of the men asked us.

Yoshika didn't reply. Instead, she ran inside and made for her Striker Unit while I simply walked into the hangar, breathing deeply.

"Wait, you can't," another man said.

I watched as Yoshika kicked off her shoes and jumped into the Striker Unit softly, her animal features manifesting once she was inside.

"Yoshika Miyafuji, prepared for lift-off!" Yoshika said with determination.

"You've gotta stop her!" one man said to me.

I sighed as I shrugged my shoulders.

"You know how difficult is it to get her to not do things?" I said as I walked towards the little Fuso Witch calmly. "It's like talking to a rock. It just ain't going to move no matter how many times you tell it to."

"You're not going to stop me, Roland-kun," Yoshika told me as I stopped next to her.

"Who said I was?" I told her as I looked at her. She looked surprised. "The major told me to take you home and keep an eye on you. While not going home I can abide by..." I raised a finger on my right hand. "I'm not letting you leave my sight. Besides..." I smiled. "I want to see the others again. It's been a long time."

"But..." Yoshika sounded confused. "You..."

I nodded. "I know I said that I wanted a normal life once, but now that I spent six months in this world...I realized that once I begin something I can't leave it until I see it through to the end. No matter how many times the Neuroi strike back, I'll be alongside you Witches. Especially the Strike Witches. Now, time to power this baby up once more."

I brought my left hand to my chest as I sent my energy into the watch. I then felt my feet get lifted off the ground as I felt the familiar framework of the Striker Unit begin to form, starting with a place for my feet. I then felt the shell form, along with the fins that wore the Jolly Rogers decals. Soon, I stood there with the newly-formed prototype Striker Unit.

"Roland Sage, Neuroi Witch, ready for take-off!" I shouted with determination as well.

Suddenly, someone got in front of us as we started up her engine.

"I can't allow you to go," he said. "You haven't been cleared by Command."

"I know!" Yoshika said quickly. "But I'm gonna have to if I want to save Sakamoto!"

"But still...you can't." He had been joined by two others.

"We have to," I added. "I promised myself that I would not let anything happen to my friends, and that includes the major."

Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted out. "Yoshika!"

We all looked at the hangar doors and saw Michiko standing there, her hands near her chest.

"Michiko," Yoshika said as the girl approached us. "It's no use. I can't do nothing."

Michiko looked up at her friend.

"Go get 'em," she encouraged. "But be careful."

Yoshika was surprised before she smiled, nodded her head, and said, "I'll be back."

Michiko then looked at me. "Roland-san, take care of Yoshika, okay?"

There went that "Roland-san" again...maybe I got too used to hearing "Roland-kun" from Yoshika. Besides, I don't really know a lot about Fuso titles or something. I do know a nickname sometimes when I hear one.

"Don't worry, Michiko," I said as I nodded with a smile. "She'll be back before you know it. Until then, keep an eye on her mom and grandma, okay?"

I watched as Michiko nodded in approval before turning to look at the men, who were speechless. A while later, the one who had tried stopping us turned to one of his men.

"Open up that hangar door!" he told him.

"Understood," the one he was looking at said as he tipped his hat forward a bit.

"Yessir," the other one said as they went off to open the hangar door.

As soon as it was opened, Yoshika and I continued starting our engines, and soon our magic circles appeared underneath us.

I think the men were saying something, but with our Striker Units active it was hard to discern what they were saying. I was able to pick up somewhere near the end of their conversation.

"Flight path is clear," one man said.

"Wind is within range," another continued.

"Striker Unit clamping bolts are off," the third one added. "Ready for take-off. Engage at will."

"Engage!" Yoshika shouted as she took off into the air.

"Next. Engage at will."

"Let's go!" I shouted as I took off after her.

The strange part about it was that as we entered the air, there was a lot of those pink leaves again. I wonder if they mean something?

That, and what were those things?

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

For some reason, I had decided to turn around and look out the window behind me. I guess because there wasn't much to do in this plane, I had to do something. Besides, you never know if something strange ended up happening.

What I saw next was odd.

"Are those cherry blossoms?" I asked myself. "No way!" It made no sense! Why were there cherry blossoms looking like they were coming towards the plane?

I got up and opened the door and was soon greeted by Miyafuji and Sage flying alongside us. I watched as their hair was being blown through the wind they were flying through.

"Major Sakamoto!" Miyafuji shouted out.

"Hey there, major!" Sage added as he waved his right hand.

"What are you doing, you two?" I asked out of confusion and anger. "Turn back this instant!"

"Please listen to us, major! You have to take us with you!"

"No! You have your own duties to attend to in this country! Sage too!"

"But..."

"This _is _our duty!" Sage shouted instead. "Like it or not, we were once a part of the Strike Witches. We may have disbanded and gone our separate ways, but there's always a time when we'll meet again to fight. Besides, Yoshika made a promise. Remember?"

"I swore...to protect them!"

I gasped.

"Protect them?" I asked myself. Miyafuji was still holding on to her promise? To Sage, I added, "And you, Sage?"

"I didn't have to be on the team," Sage told me next. "I never planned on being a Strike Witch when I first got here, but when Commander Minna picked me to join I told myself that I would train to become a Witch. Besides, knowing you girls..." I think I saw him...smiling? He was actually _smiling_. How come he was doing that? "You're going to have a whole lot of trouble on your agenda. Why not have an extra hand to help out?"

"But your wish..." Had he forgotten his wish? The one about what he had wanted to happen?

"I know that I wanted to lead a normal life, but I can't lead one if the Neuroi keep on attacking. So until that day...I'll fight to protect each and every single person on this planet! Starting with you girls!" At the end of his statement, he pointed at me with his right index finger.

So he hasn't forgotten...

I laughed heartily before I looked at a confused Miyafuji and a stunned Sage.

"So can we stay?" she asked me.

I held out my right hand.

"Yes, Miyafuji!" I told her. "Sage! Welcome aboard!"

Miyafuji got excited. "Great!"

It took a while to get the two of them on board the plane, but soon we were relaxing once more as Sage powered off his Striker Unit to the surprise of our other passengers.

XXXXXXXXXX

_**It's been one week since Roland and Yoshika had joined up with Mio. In that time, the events begin to come together. Now, all it takes is one detail...the catalyst that will begin the series of events...**_

_Francesca's POV_

It felt like another normal day out in Romagna. Shirley and I were busy lying down on the sand by the coastal area of the region. We were joined by a sixteen-year-old boy who also happened to be a Witch. He didn't look strange (unlike Roland and his choice of clothes): he wore a yellow military jacket with the top two buttons undone. A white undershirt could be seen underneath the jacket. Like Roland, he had something covering his underwear, but his was a pair of brown shorts that somehow reminded me of something a guy from the Fuso military would wear. His black hair and brown eyes certainly reminded me of Roland.

"I'm so hungry," I said to Shirley as we lied there. I sounded like I was whining.

"Want an Em-Ar-Ee?" Shirley asked in return.

I scrunched my face up in disgust. "I hate dehydrated pig-face." I relaxed my face and sighed softly. "I want a cooked meal with some dessert."

"Don't be such a wuss-tard. We can't get those supplies over here, and you know that."

I wasn't too pleased at the fact that she reminded me about our food situation. "I hate this! If I don't get some of Yoshika's home-cooked meals right now, I'm going to pee!" To prove my frustration, I started squirming around as I spoke.

"Throwing a tantrum will only make you hungrier." Shirley said that when I had reached the halfway point of my tantrum.

I soon relaxed and sighed.

Man, this really had to bite: we're pretty much the only members of the Strike Witches around currently, and we don't have enough food supplies to cook much with (we're on those gross MREs right now).

I heard Shirley sigh.

"Sometimes it's things like this that makes me wish Roland had been here still," she said to no one in particular. "It would have been nice to see if he knew any way of us getting some more supplies..." She turned her head to look at me. "And to help me out with keeping an eye on you."

"I dunno," I said as I stuck out my tongue. "It's not that I don't like the guy, but Lieutenant Roland-kun would get tortured more by us if he was here."

Shirley sighed. "Only because you sleep on his back in the middle of push-ups."

"This Roland guy really sounds like an interesting person," the boy said finally. "I'm not sure if any sane person would go through with Francesca sleeping on their back."

"Lieutenant Roland-kun is probably not very sane to begin with," I said with a smile.

"Only because you drove him that direction," I heard Shirley add.

I rolled my head to look at her general direction. "You did as much to get him there as the rest of us."

"True." Shirley sighed. "Oh well, so much for us trying to preserve one of humanity's trump cards."

Suddenly, the radio went off, and we sat up as Shirley answered the device.

"Acknowledged," Shirley said into it. "This is Yeager...What? Really?" She sounded surprised. "...Understood, we're on our way." She nodded as she hung up and looked at me. "Good news, Francesca and Draco. We're getting supplies from Fuso."

I was evidently pleased by the news, for I said, "Hot damn! Real food!"

"Of course you would say that," the boy added.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

A burning city...

I was flying inside a burning city, trying to figure out what was going on as well as why I was here. I was heavily injured, but I was still able to fly inside my Striker Unit.

I don't get it. Somehow, this felt like a prophecy of some kind...but didn't the Neuroi fragment that had been set in my brain by that being disappear once it told me how I ended up here and the fate of us if the Warlock won?

I checked my BAR and coughed weakly.

Damn smoke...I can't breathe very well in this condition.

Anyways, my ammo count...I only had five rounds left, so I checked to see if I had any extra clips. Finding none, I checked for my back-up gun: the Browning HP. I couldn't find that on my person either. In fact, the only things I had were my sword and the crowbar, though the strap holding the sword's scabbard against my back had been badly torn.

Come to think of it...I looked at my clothes and realized that they were torn up almost beyond repair. I even had some cuts on them.

I flew around the city for a while before I heard a very sharp cry, almost like it sounded like a Neuroi.

I turned around and came face-to-face with another Warlock, this one Neuroified.

"I..." I began as I floated back a bit in slight fear. "I...we...we destroyed you..."

The Warlock said nothing as it charged at me, a shiny red blade of energy emerging from just under its right cannon. When it got close enough, it decided to thrust it at my chest.

Unfortunately, I never received the blow: some figure had shoved me back and kept me at arm's length, making the blade go through their back and out their stomach.

I could see that there was a Striker Unit attached to the person's legs, so I could only assume that it was most likely a female Witch. However, I couldn't tell any sort of feature that could tell me who it was that had saved me.

"I'm...sorry..." the Witch said in a mixture of voices.

"No..." I said as we floated there. "Don't die on me...please...don't die on me, please!"

"_Sage!_"

XXXXXXXXXX

My eyes snapped open as I was panting extremely heavily. My heart was racing once again.

_Hell..._ I thought as I was looking into Mio's uncovered eye. _Was that another dream?_

"Are you alright, Sage?" she asked me professionally.

"What happened?" I asked in return.

I think Mio frowned when I asked. "You fell asleep to take a nap, like you have been doing for the last few days, and started talking in your sleep." She raised her exposed eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

"Ah, right." I sat up straight as I looked at her. "We're in the plane, right?"

The major nodded. "Correct. What exactly happened to make you end up in this state?"

I shook my head. "Uh, it's nothing...well, it's something..." I then sighed. "Look, it's not that I don't trust you girls to understand, but I don't want to tell you what I dreamed about. Not yet."

"Why?" Yoshika asked me.

I noticed that they were sitting next to me, Yoshika on my left and Mio on my right. Mio still had her cloak on. Hijikata and some guy in a red uniform were sitting across from us. All were looking at me.

"Hang on," I said as I shook my head again. "Did I miss anything?"

Hijikata informed me that we were over the Adriatic Sea and that we should be able to land at the Romagna base soon. Yoshika and Mio then informed me that the major had sent Yoshika's letter in for analysis and could only guess that the letter had been late due to security issues, something Yoshika apparently had a lot of experience with.

I blinked once I heard that.

"Hold up," I asked as I reached inside my pocket and pulled out the letter I had. "I got something from the doc as well, but I wanted to hand it to you in person." I then held out the letter for Mio to grab.

"I understand," Mio said as she took the letter and opened it up. "However, as Sergeant Hijikata is of a lower rank than you, you could have simply asked him to hand it to me without reading it." She then looked at the diagnostics and blinked. Well, one eye was seen as blinking. "Huh? You got this from Doctor Miyafuji?"

"Got what?" Hijikata asked us.

"It's something only members of the Strike Witches should see." To me, she added, "If you got something from the doctor, this really complicates your place in this..."

Jeez, like I hadn't had two weeks to figure that out, Mio...

"So how deep would you figure I am in for this puzzle concerning the doc?" I asked.

Before Mio could respond, a buzzer suddenly went off.

"Radar has a bogey from the southwest," the pilot told us over the communications system. "Approaching rapidly."

Mio and I stood up. A bogey coming in that quickly was either Charlotte (couldn't be; bogey, right?) or a Neuroi.

"What?" Mio asked as we looked at each other.

We soon heard a laser pass by underneath the plane. This was followed by two others lasers, the third laser fired scraping past the top of the left wing.

As everyone held on to something to brace for impact or something, Mio and I were trying to figure things out.

"Status," the major said.

"Unidentified aircraft has engaged," the pilot told us. "Engine Number One has been hit!"

"Bogey is even closer now," the copilot added. "Ma'am?"

We looked out the closest window and saw a strange type of Neuroi: it looked like a normal one...but this time it had appendages flapping about like they were wings or fins or something.

"..." was the only thing I could utter as I looked at it.

"Oh no..." Hijikata said in fear.

"..."

"Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked me.

"..."

"You okay, sir?" Hijikata asked me next.

"...P..."

This got the others' attention.

"What is it, Sage?" Mio decided to ask me.

"...P..." I tried again. "_...¿Por qué?_"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

As the bogey continued shooting at us, I looked back out a window and lifted my eye patch to let my magical eye take a look. Up ahead, I could sense a Neuroi advancing on us.

"Neuroi confirmed!" I shouted. "There! At twelve thousand! Dammit, I can't believe they extended their reach this far."

The plane was forced to perform emergency maneuvers to avoid the lasers coming at us, which started throwing everyone around like rag dolls. Well, except for myself as I grabbed a hold of a support bar of some sort. I then caught Miyafuji with the arm that was holding on to my katana and watched as Sage slammed into the spot next to me.

"I never wished to be thrown around like a rag doll!" he shouted after giving off a grunt of pain before he flew away and continued being tossed around.

When the plane finally stopped moving for its evasive maneuver, we discovered that Hijikata had been injured in the side, which was bleeding. Roland had a few bumps and scrapes but was somehow not injured badly. Though he was in a bit of a daze as he sat there while rocking his head from side to side.

"Hijikata!" we shouted as Miyafuji rushed up to the sergeant and used her magic to begin healing him.

"Sage, are you hurt?" I asked Sage when I reached him. I knelt down and put my right hand on his left shoulder.

"I'm fine," he said in a strange tone, like he had gotten drunk or something. "But can someone tell me why I have little Neurois floating around my head?"

I blinked. There were no little Neurois floating around his head, so I could only assume that he was hallucinating them. Then again, with him it's hard to understand what he says sometimes. "I'm going to assume that you're fine, so snap out of it." I then patted his shoulder, stood up, and looked at Miyafuji as she healed Hijikata and found myself thinking, _Her magic energy's stable now. You've certainly improved, Miyafuji._

The plane shook once again, and I looked at the cockpit's direction.

"We need to move out!" I said quickly. "Let's drop altitude and try to lose them!"

"Roger!" was the reply.

As the plane began its descent, I ran to the cockpit and entered it. "How does it look? You think you can lose them?"

"We're doing everything we can here."

"Well, keep trying."

"What's happening?" Miyafuji asked as she and a now-recovered Sage reached the doorway (I could only assume that she had finished tending to Hijikata).

I turned to look at them. "You didn't think I was going to leave us out there, do you?" I then looked ahead. "Not to worry, we're planning to evade for now and wait for reinforcements."

"Right."

"The question is," Sage decided to say, "how long can we hold out before then?"

Suddenly, we heard explosions, and we went to the back and looked out the window again.

"What was that?" I asked as we spotted a fleet of ships up ahead.

"I think the floating cavalry have arrived," Sage said quickly as he pointed a finger at the ships down below.

We then watched as the ships fired off a volley of cannon shots that slammed into the Neuroi.

"That's not gonna be enough to take down a Neuroi that size," I informed them.

"Meaning...?" Sage asked.

"The Neuroi's taking a hit, but they're not going to be able to reach the core."

We then watched as the Neuroi countered with a beam that sliced through a ship, said ship exploding as a result.

"That thing just took out a destroyer!" I said in surprise before I turned to Hijikata, who had manned the comms system. "Sergeant, where are the Romagna Witches?"

"Not coming," he told us. "I requested help for Romagna's First Fighter Wing earlier, but unfortunately we're now outside of their flight range."

"We're going to have to figure something else out." I then turned to the window in time to watch another ship get sliced by the beam.

"Another one down," Sage informed me.

"They're taking too long to escape. They're like sitting ducks."

We then heard Hijikata stand up and say, "The Five hundred and Fourth Fighter Wing is close, but they're unable to fight. Yesterday's battle wiped them out. And all other Witch units will be at least thirty minutes."

"We don't have thirty minutes. At the rate we're going, we'll be wiped out in five."

"Are you serious?" Miyafuji asked me as she turned to face me.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Well, it's been a hectic moment as we were stuck in a plane with a shot engine, looking on as the Neuroi that was attacking us decided to go for the ships below. Based on what I could gather, the closest group, the 504th, wouldn't be helping us...and any other units would be here about twenty-five minutes after we were blown out of the sky in a fiery explosion.

"Thirty minutes, huh?" I asked myself. "Like watching a television program..." I then looked at Mio. "What now, ma'am?"

"I'm going out," Mio said suddenly.

This caught Yoshika and me off-guard.

"Roger that," Hijikata said simply. "Prepare to launch Striker."

The engineer working on it said that it was ready, and Mio walked towards it...only to be stopped by Yoshika, her arms extended out to her side as she blocked the path.

"Move out of the way, Miyafuji," Mio told her.

"No, ma'am," Yoshika told her in return. "I know you can't create shields anymore. You can't fly. I won't let you!"

"She's got a point, major," I pointed out as I stood next to Yoshika. "Without a sort of defense, you're practically vulnerable. But we can help you out. You know, making shields for defense and all that."

Mio turned to face me.

"And your idea works how?" she asked me. "Last time I checked, your shields only work for a brief amount of time before they weaken to the point that a measly paint bullet can pass through."

"I have other ways of defending myself, remember?" I told her. They certainly didn't give me the nickname "Neuroi Witch" for nothing.

I watched as Mio cracked a faint smile. "This certainly brings back memories. You two were always determined to protect everyone...especially Sage. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry about me. I promise, I have no intentions of losing my life out there."

"Yeah, but..." Yoshika tried.

"It's true, I lost the ability to use shields when I turned twenty, but now I have a newly-repaired Shiden-kai Striker Unit. And this here?" She nodded her head briefly to the katana. "I haven't forgotten how you saved my life, Miyafuji, and I'm not going to throw it away that easily. You two are just going to have to trust me. I _am_ able to fight."

I blinked. Mio turned twenty? And she lost her shields?

...Hey, I wonder...does that mean that...I'm going to be shield-less in less than two years? Hang on, I have the core inside me.

Suddenly, I remembered the last battle I had fought in, when Maloney's Warlock had gone Neuroi. It had said something about me being like it, and look at what happened to it.

But...if I was really like it...then would I be forced to serve the Neuroi because of the very core inside me?

I shook my head. I don't care what happens, I won't ever bring myself to harm my friends.

But would I be able to resist the changed feeling if I lose my grip on my humanity?

"If that's the case, I have a request," Yoshika said quickly. "Will you let me fight this battle with you?"

I looked at Mio, who started laughing heartily.

"Right," Mio said once she stopped. "Get ready to go, sergeant. You too, Sage."

I looked at Yoshika as she nodded her head and said, "Right."

"Aye-aye, major," I said as I saluted quickly.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Miyafuji," Mio started as Yoshika was getting into her Striker Unit, "you take the lead and draw the Neuroi away from the Venezian fleet. I'll handle the core and attack from the rear."

"Got it!" Yoshika said as her familiar finished appearing. She also had a Type 99 aircraft cannon slung across her back.

"What about me, ma'am?" I asked as I watched Yoshika.

"You will stay separate from us and fight from the front. I have faith in you, Sage."

"Never asked if you doubted my abilities."

"Oh, and lieutenant?"

I sighed. "Not a lieutenant anymore, ma'am."

"Have to call you something other than Sage at some point."

"You could try Roland every now and then, ma'am."

I don't think Mio cared about my reply. "Anyways, I have one other thing to tell you: don't activate your secret weapon unless it's an emergency."

"Secret weapon, ma'am?" Hijikata asked in surprise.

I nodded as I replied with, "Yep. Back when I was in the air about six months ago, I earned the nickname of 'Neuroi Witch'. You'll see it when and if I need to call upon it."

We watched as Yoshika was lifted to the outside.

"Let's go," Mio said. "Prepare flight."

"Right," I barely heard Yoshika say. "Roger that!"

Once Yoshika took flight, a Neuroi beam ripped across the top of the plane, crashing into the lift-off unit.

"Sakamoto!" Yoshika said through our radio (yeah, luckily, she had enough radios for the three of us).

"I'm fine," Mio told her. "It hit the lift-off unit. Look out for the next one coming."

You know, I'm kinda glad that it's Yoshika defending us right now. Being a member of Team Protagonists does reward one with the bonus of "Not As Likely to Die".

...Well, that's if a trait like that even existed. Not sure right now.

I walked over to the window and saw Yoshika up ahead as well as the Neuroi charging up another shot. The little Fuso Witch put up a barrier in time to keep us from being destroyed a second later.

"Wow, did you see the size of her shield?" Hijikata asked us.

"Of course!" I heard Mio say as I assumed that she was going off on a tangent right now. "That's how powerful she is."

I am so glad I'm not the only one who goes off on a tangent. The thing about going off on a tangent is that it's rather hard to figure out what exactly a person was beginning from. That, and sometimes the tangent's contents didn't seem to relate to each other.

...Crap, I went off on one, didn't I? Oh well.

We barely made out the engineer with us say something about the magic charger being damaged, making the Shiden-kai Striker Unit unable to fly currently.

Mio and I looked at the engineer.

"What do you mean?" Mio asked him.

I frowned. I could open up the side door and hop out...but this place would be depressurized if I did that. That, and I wasn't going to risk losing anyone to a reckless stunt.

"Dammit..." I said.

No options for us at this point: Yoshika was on her own until Mio and I figured out a way to get a Striker Unit launched.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

"We want food! We want food!"

"We need supplies! We need supplies!"

"We need some help! We need some help!"

After we learned that there were going to be supplies coming in from Fuso, Lucchini, the boy with us, and I had decided to go flying in to help out.

And yes, we had our guns with us in case we had to fight.

"Yummy, yummy, Fuso food!" Lucchini said as she finished her chant.

"You got me at 'Fuso food'," I told her. As Lucchini went on to name something we would probably be eating, I groaned in frustration as I covered my mouth. She had said something about octopus. "Then you lost me at 'octopus'."

"What's wrong with octopus?" the boy asked me. The top of his head housed a pair of orange cat ears, and he also had an orange tail swishing about in the wind.

I looked at him, stunned. "What's wrong with you, Draco? It's slimy and sticky and gross!"

"You do realize that there are lots of things we could have aside from octopus. Like I could name one item in particular..."

"Don't name cod-liver oil. It tasted like engine lubricant." I think the only Witch I can name off my head that actually liked it was Commander Minna. And maybe Roland (he did have a second serving. Though the look on his face probably said otherwise).

"I have to agree with you there. That stuff's horrendous, but at least it's something I can name."

"Slimy and sticky, you bet," Lucchini said, going back to the topic of octopi and (now) their characteristics, "but not gross." She clapped her hands as she turned onto her back while flying. "They make it wonderful!"

I looked at the Romagnan Witch. "It's times like this that makes me wonder who hurt you." Looking at Draco, I added, "You're both about the same."

Draco only gave off a cheesy smile. "What can I say? I aim to please."

Suddenly, the radio came to life in our ears.

"Calling all units, do you read me?" someone on the line said. "This is Venezia First Squadron. We are currently locked in combat with a Neuroi. Requesting immediate assistance, location Eh-Nine."

I looked at them.

"Sounds like we're going to have to hurry," I said as we flew off to go assist, Lucchini and Draco flying circles around me vertically (Draco to avoid being hit by the Romagnan Witch, and Lucchini because...who knows anymore...).

"Roger that!" Lucchini replied.

I sure hope Roland's having it easier than us, not having to worry about the Neuroi trying to kill him.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"It's too dangerous, major," Hijikata said. "You're gonna have to be patient and wait until the Shiden-kai is repaired."

Mio was busy opening the top again or something, and she stopped to look at him.

"Do you realize how many people will be hurt?" she asked him. "The Neuroi aren't going to wait for us." As Hijikata looked surprised, Mio cracked a small smile. "I guess you could say I caught something from Miyafuji."

"I'd say so," I replied. "It's something Yosh and I would do."

I looked out the window while Mio resumed her job and watched as Yoshika flew in front of the fleet and put up a barrier to block another Neuroi beam.

"I need you to move as far away as you can while I distract it," Yoshika said over the radio.

"Negative," I heard a voice say. "We're not going to leave you here alone."

"Do as she says," I decided to interrupt, using my radio to enter the conversation. "I know it may seem dumb, but if you stay here you're only going to get killed or blown out of commission!"

I soon heard the wind flowing through the open top, and I watched as Mio climbed out. While I would have tried stopping her earlier, this was the only idea we could use. I ran to the open hatch and clambered up, my arms and head poking outside the plane. I could feel the wind flying past Mio's legs pound against my face.

This must be why dogs love sticking their heads out the window.

"Hurry, you have to get out of here," Yoshika continued over the radio. "Major Sakamoto! Roland-kun!"

"Ready?" Mio asked as she grabbed her cloak. "Attack straight on!"

"Roger!" the pilot replied as Mio ripped off the cloak, revealing a white one-piece swimsuit.

I was startled.

...You know, I never really thought of seeing the major looking like that. She just seems too...serious.

"What are you planning exactly, major?" I decided to ask as I climbed out onto the top as well. I stood behind her as I was trying to work out what she was processing in her mind. My clothes were flapping in the wind as I stood there. My backpack luckily wasn't doing it, but that was because it was behind my back.

I watched as her familiar materialized before she ran to the front and jumped off.

I didn't waste any time in waiting: since I was outside the plane, I decided to jump backward to leave the safety of the plane, and I felt myself free-falling for a while as I was sending energy into the watch on my left wrist. I felt the Striker Unit activate before I kicked it on and corrected my flight path so that I wasn't falling anymore.

I also took the chance to watch Mio unsheath the katana and bring it over her head, the blade glowing with a blue energy. Somehow, I found myself feeling fear, like it was dangerous.

Maybe it was just the core inside of me, but I could sense a lot of power behind that attack.

"Major!" I heard Yoshika shout out.

We then watched as Mio did what I thought was only possible in, like, never: she brought the katana ahead of her as the Neuroi fired a beam at her, and (wouldn't you know it) she sliced her way through the beam.

I gawked at the sight before me.

...Am...I...seeing something...that I thought...only Haru from _Rave Master_...could do?

She just sliced through a Neuroi beam.

She. Just. Sliced. Through. A. Neuroi. _Beam_.

_Beam_, I tell ya!

_Why am I this surprised?!_

It was soon over as Mio ripped through the Neuroi, and it started turning white as if to signal its destruction before exploding into white specks.

"Sakamoto!" Yoshika called out as we flew in to retrieve the major.

Mio was calmly falling when Yoshika managed to catch the major in her arms.

"Sorry about the wait," Mio told the little Fuso Witch. "I would have arrived sooner, but..."

"We had a hitch in the plan," I finished, seeing as I was still onboard at the time.

"You could have really hurt yourself," Yoshika told the major.

Of _course_ she would be the one to say that. You know, I should really say something like that once in a while.

"Maybe," Mio told her. "But I didn't, did I?"

I then noticed that her eye patch was off, revealing her magical right eye.

"You okay, Mio?" I asked.

"Yep," Mio told me. To the both of us, she added, "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't need a shield to fight." She then raised the katana for us to see. "As long as I have my Reppumaru, I'll be fine." She then thought of something. "Hey, I want your opinions: what do you think of 'Reppumaru'? I've been up all night trying to pick a name that was fitting."

"Oh!" Yoshika said in surprise. "Um...I don't know. It sounds pretty cool."

"It fits nicely," I said.

What am I talking about? I have no idea what it means, do I?

"Sounds pretty cool?" Mio asked in amazement before laughing heartily.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

"Shirley, Drakey, look!" Lucchini told me as we flew toward where we last saw the Neuroi. Apparently, something had managed to defeat the Neuroi as we were arriving.

"Yep," I said as I studied the white dust in the distance. "Those are Neuroi fragments, alright."

"I wonder who could have destroyed it?" Draco asked.

I couldn't focus very well. Somehow, I felt something...disturbing. "Be careful. I'm still picking up a Neuroi presence here."

"Oh, you think there could be more of them?" Lucchini asked me, like a kid asking if they could have another serving of cake.

"Knowing our luck, I'd say that we might be in for some more," Draco pointed out.

I nodded as I said, "Let's keep moving."

"Right!" the two of them replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

A while later, and we were back on the plane, which had landed in the water. We were on top, though. Mio was busy putting on a white military jackey while I had dropped my bag into the plane after taking out the crowbar. I was busy fitting it behind the small of my back.

"Very impressive, major," Hijikata said as Mio fixed the jacket. Now she looked more like her usual self.

"Looks like you didn't need a Striker Unit after all," I added as I finished setting the crowbar in. It certainly felt rather odd...then again, it's been a while since I had it actively behind the small of my back.

"Thanks," Mio said simply as she buttoned up the jacket. "It was easy. Too easy."

"Sounds like something I would say..." Why was she saying that?

Then again, why was I still feeling a chill in my spine? This had better not be like that time about the breeze.

"It probably only feels that way because you've gotten so much stronger lately," Yoshika tried saying as a theory behind Mio's feelings towards the victory.

Mio turned to look at the little Fuso Witch.

"I hope you're right, sergeant," she said.

I looked at the falling fragments as they fell into the ocean. I squinted and looked carefully as I watched the fragments closest to the water stopped mere inches from landing before floating back up.

"Huh?" I said in confusion. "That's strange..."

"Sakamoto, look over there!" Yoshika shouted as she looked at what I was seeing.

Mio looked at the mess and watched in horror as we watched the Neuroi start to piece itself back together.

"What? Is the Neuroi regenerating now?" she asked.

Right then and there, I decided to say something that I had wanted to say for a long time.

"Whoa, I did not see that coming," I said blankly.

Thank you, _Johnny Test_. Now one of the moments of my life currently will forever be summarized as just that.

Why me?

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**And there's the end of the chapter.**

**Since I forgot to do this at the beginning of the first chapter, I do want to say this: I do not own any characters except those I created.**

**Anyways, please read and respond, and (spoiler alert) stick around for the conclusion of this arc in the next chapter.**

**Thanks.**


	3. Being a Witch Once Again (Part 3)

**Welcome, one and all, to the next chapter in _Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_.**

**Alright, as per regulations (nah, more like habits), let me begin by answering reviews:**

_jaku_ _uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review. Draco was an idea I had been working with while trying to figure how to start the first chapter of the sequel. The character himself is rather...skeletal right now, but I will be fleshing him out as we go along (I'd tell you more about him, but it's probably better if I save it for later on). As for the rest of it, it's nice to hear about your plans, and I wish you luck.**

_Dragonman75_**: Yep, another male Witch has made his appearance. Like I said above, his character will be fleshed out as I work on the story. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_fuji92_**: Thanks, and welcome back to the adventure. I'm not sure how you missed the sequel coming out either, but it's great to see you tuning in again. And yep: you did see another male Witch coming into play. Concerning the remainder of your review, thanks for said review and I wish you good luck in your stories.**

**Good, with that out of the way, let us now rejoin our heroes (Roland, Yoshika, and Mio) as they witness the regeneration of the defeated Neuroi as a certain Liberion Witch, her Romagnan partner, and the boy with them travel to help out...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 3: Being a Witch Once Again (Part 3)**

Okay...can someone stop for a moment and tell me how the hell the Neuroi's starting to return to its original shape when, I don't know, _the damn enemy had been slashed in half and, assuming that the core was in the way, **had lost the only goddamn means of staying alive?!**_

As the Neuroi started piecing itself back together again, Mio took the time to look at it using her magical eye and was shocked.

"It can't be!" she said in shock. "The core's still alive!"

The core's still alive? Didn't Mio just _cut through the damn thing?!_

"I'm on it!" Yoshika said as she activated her Striker Unit once again.

"Count me in as well!" I added as I powered on my Striker Unit as well.

"The core is in the tip of the part that is regenerating!" Mio told us as we took off to continue the battle. "Just blast it open and finish it off!"

"Right!" Yoshika said as she readied her gun once more.

"On it!" I added as I drew my sword.

Yoshika and I flew up to the regenerating Neuroi and attacked it, Yoshika shooting at it as she passed by while I gave it a slash along its body.

"Miyafuji! Sage! Listen up!" Mio said into our headsets. "The core is moving! It's on the right side now, so don't lose it!"

"Understood," I radioed back. It's moving? Well, at least it's making us work for its death. It'd be really bad if the first Neuroi we had to defeat was so stupid that its core was sitting there, waiting to be skewered by my waiting blade...

"We won't!" Yoshika said as we flew along the outside, the little Fuso Witch still pumping bullets into the outside in an effort to hit the core. I flew behind her so as not to be hit with the bullets, using my sword to hack away at its body.

"Miyafuji! Sage!" Mio said once more. "The core keeps moving just before your attacks hit. We're going to have to launch multiple simultaneous attacks."

"What do you mean by that?" Yoshika asked.

"You can't do it by yourself, and without a gun Sage is next to useless unless he enjoys being riddled with holes."

"Glad to know you worry about my effectiveness without ranged weapons..." I deadpanned. Really, I never grabbed a gun and apparently Mio (in some weird twist) never accounted for a case where two people joined her back in Fuso.

One of the drawbacks of being in an anime where you don't exist, I guess: your teammates don't seem to remember to consider something else happening. Then again, I couldn't blame her; it was pure coincidence (or was it?) that I was with Yoshika when she came in.

Soon, I watched as the Neuroi charged up a shot that was going to strike the plane.

"Heads up, major!" I shouted as I flew in the way and put up my barrier. I soon felt the beam slam into it, and I tried holding my ground. However, it was like Mio had said: while I can hold a beam back, the barriers I put up had a strong tendency to weaken to the point that, as the major had stated, a simple paint round could bypass the shield in that state.

And that was starting to happen as I felt my barrier weakening, and I was straining to keep from being wiped clean. A second later, and it broke, leaving me defenseless against the incoming beam...

...Only to watch as Yoshika flew right in front of me as she had her barrier active, her form of protection keeping the beam from ripping us apart.

"Yosh..." I started.

"Let me deal with barrier duty," Yoshika told me. "You're not going to last for much longer if you try using your magic barrier to block another attack."

"You..." She saved me...

"Hang on!" I heard Mio say over the radio.

I could hear Yoshika straining to prevent the beam from wiping herself, me, and the plane out. I wanted to help her, but she was right: with my barrier the way it was right now, I couldn't hold off an attack like the one that was slamming into Yoshika.

I guess I have no choice...

I brought my left hand to my chest as I got ready to activate Neuroi Mode once again before what Yoshika did next stopped me in my tracks: she had put more power into her Striker Unit and was managing to fly around with her barrier up, the beam tracking her so as to finish her off when the moment was right. However, it soon stopped firing its laser as Yoshika started firing more rounds into it.

Way to go, Yoshika! Way to show the Neuroi who's boss!

"You won't last," Mio started, "come back!"

I snapped back to attention and flew to the Neuroi to help out in time to see Yoshika shoot off a piece of the body, revealing the core.

"I found it!" Yohsika said as she fired at it. I slashed at the spot once she passed by, but it had disappeared once again as her shots slammed where it used to be and my slash made a useless cut in the armor. A Neuroi beam soon fired past me, slamming into Yoshika's defenses and forcing her back. She regained control and soon flew toward me.

I soon looked behind her and saw a lot of Neuroi lasers converging on one spot in the sky.

"Yosh!" I shouted in warning as I flew towards her to cover her back. I was not going to let this end up like Commander Ellios back during the _Ascension_ incident!

"Sergeant, behind you!" Mio shouted over the radio.

Yoshika looked behind her and put up her barrier in time to avoid being shot. However, the surprise caught her off her guard, as the little Fuso Witch started plummeting toward the water while giving off a quick scream.

"Miyafuji!" I heard Mio shout.

"Hang on, Yosh!" I shouted as well once I diverted my course in order to go rescue her.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

I was falling toward the water, having been taken by surprise by a Neuroi laser. I couldn't see anything standing still due to spinning around while I was falling head first. The only thing I could make out was the Neuroi as it was finishing up its regeneration and Roland as he was flying toward me.

"Shield..." I said weakly to myself. "Have to put it up...but can't move..."

The last time I had felt this weak was when the Warlock had slammed an arm cannon into my stomach.

"Yoshika...hang on!" I could hear Roland shout as he flew towards me.

_I'm sorry...Roland-kun..._ I thought weakly. _I couldn't hold on much longer..._

Soon, I heard something zoom through the air as it hit the Neuroi, making a lot of white smoke explode from its impact point on the right side of said Neuroi. In my spinning vision, I watched as Roland looked at the Neuroi in confusion as he was still diving toward me.

"That shot..." Roland said in the radio.

"No way!" I shouted quickly.

Soon, I managed to correct myself in time to watch two familiar Witches fly by, escorted by another male Witch.

"Is that you, Shirley?" I asked in surprise.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I watched as Yoshika corrected herself quickly, and I was soon stopping in the air in time to watch three Witches fly past us. One of them was a male Witch who wore a yellow military jacket with the top two buttons undone. A white undershirt could be seen underneath the jacket. Definitely unlike me, he didn't have any pants covering his white boxers. He had black hair, and that was all I could really notice in the heat of the moment.

The other two, however...

"Is that you, Shirley?" Yoshika asked.

There was no reply as Charlotte "Shirley" Yeager and the male Witch fired upon the Neuroi when she flew close enough. I joined Yoshika in watching before Francesca Lucchini came over to us.

"Yoshika!" Francesca said cheerfully. "Ciao!"

"Hi, Francesca!" Yoshika said quickly as we looked at them.

"Hey there, Francesca," I said with a smile. It was definitely a good thing to see two more familiar faces again. Though, who's the new guy?

"Hey, Lieutenant Roland-kun!" Francesca added as she nodded in my direction. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Every single one of our shots hit the Neuroi."

We then floated out of the path of a beam that threatened to kill us before we floated up to Charlotte and the boy, who were busy firing into the Neuroi.

"What is with this thing?" she asked us. "This sucker's as hard as a rock."

"But wait," Yoshika asked quickly, realizing something. "I don't understand. What are you guys doing here?"

"That's a good question," I added as I blinked. What were Charlotte and Francesca doing here in Romagna? And who was the guy with them?

Charlotte stopped firing and turned her head to look at Yoshika and myself. "I think we could ask you two the same thing."

"We could've if we wanted to waste time," Francesca replied as we flew out of the path of another laser. She then noticed the lack of bullet holes int the armor. "Huh? That's weird, I know I hit it."

"We're dealing with something a little more difficult," I said quickly as Yoshika and I joined the Romagnan Witch.

"You did," Yoshika told her. "But it regenerates fast."

"We don't have the firepower for this," Charlotte said as she floated in front of us.

...Okay, something was off about her...

I looked at her attire: it looked about the same. white shirt, red military jacket, orange hair-

Wait, red military jacket?

Should I ask her why she's dressed completely different?

"You sure about that?" the unknown male asked Charlotte as he floated behind her, reloading his gun.

"Almost certain, Draco," Charlotte replied.

Suddenly, I felt a sniper round whiz by my head at a high speed before it slammed into the Neuroi once again, releasing another spray of white smoke. My hair waved a little in the resulting wind.

"Again, that shot..." I said in surprise. There was only one Witch I knew that could fire off a round like that.

"Anti-armor rifle?" Francesca asked.

"Then that means..." Charlotte said.

We soon looked up and behind us and soon saw Lynette "Lynne" Bishop as she was flying toward us, her Mark One Boys anti-tank rifle slung on her back.

"It's Lynne!" Yoshika and I said quickly in surprise.

As Lynette flew in to join us, Yoshika added, "Hey, Lynne!" while waving her right hand in the air.

"Hi, Yoshika!" Lynette said cheerfully.

They soon joined hands as they spun around the air for a while, laughing like old times.

"Hey there, sergeant," I said as I tipped an invisible hat to her. "Lovely timing there."

"Thanks, Roland," Lynette told me once she looked at me. "I can't believe you're here as well."

I put my left hand on the back of my head (I would say 'right hand', but that was currently holding the sword). "Well, what can I say? I never seem to get much of a break with you girls around." I then looked at the male Witch with us. "Uh, mind me asking your name?"

"Sure thing," the male said quickly. "My name is Draco El Dracon, a sergeant in the Liberion Army."

"El?" I really hope that wasn't his full middle name...

"It's an initial."

"For?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Sure thing. Anyways, I'm Roland Sage." Liberion Army, huh? Been a while since I heard about that branch.

"The Neuroi Witch, right?"

"Yeah. Used to be 'Ground Witch', though."

Draco nodded his head as I turned my attention back to Yoshika and Lynette, who were still floating there, hands locked.

"I'm so glad you're okay, and that you're here," Yoshika told Lynette.

"Me too," Lynette replied cheerfully. "I just arrived from Gallia."

Gallia, huh? I wonder if...

Before I could ask myself that question, the one person who I could think of arrived: Perrine Clostermann.

"That's great," Perrine said as she came to a stop near us, "but we really don't have time for this." She was holding a Bren in her hands.

"Perrine!" Yoshika said quickly.

"It's good to see you again, Perrine," I said with a smile. Since I last saw her, I think she was warming up to me and Yoshika more. Good thing, too.

"Same to you," Perrine said as she looked at me quickly. "You've been busy, huh?"

"I guess..."

Soon, I heard explosions, and we looked at the Neuroi, which had received four missiles that plowed into its armor.

"Are those rockets?" Perrine asked quickly.

"Yep," I said as I looked around and saw two objects approaching us. I think they had the shapes of Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen and Sanya Litvyak at a far distance. "I think that's Sanya and Eila over there." I pointed to the objects.

I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but Eila (I had guessed correctly) had gone on ahead while Sanya fired off a salvo of five rockets that slammed into the Neuroi once more.

I really wonder who else would arrive here? So far, I reunited with Yoshika and Mio (back in Fuso), Charlotte and Francesca (came in bullets flying), Lynette (greeted the Neuroi with a sniper round to its "face"), Perrine (just kinda...floated into the group) and Eila and Sanya (the current display of rocketeering or something or other). Oh, and I met Draco when he came in with Charlotte and Francesca.

I frowned. I hope Minna's alright...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

"The enemy Neuroi has a mobile core," I told Barkhorn and Hartmann as we flew toward the zone last specified, loaded up with MG 42s (except for Barkhorn, who was holding one in each hand). There was a holster on the left side of my hips that carried a Browning HP in case I ran out of ammo. "Regeneration rate is twice that of a standard model."

"So we just have to destroy it quicker than it can regenerate," Hartmann replied quickly. "Doesn't sound too hard. I wonder if Roland would mind the challenge..."

I frowned slightly. It's been about six months since I had last seen the lieutenant in question... "I guess he might..."

"Great," Barkhorn said as I watched her flip the safety off of her gun. "Just when I finally managed to get some time off with Chris..."

I smiled as I cheered back up and said, "But weren't you the one who wanted to fight the most?"

I think I got Barkhorn stunned.

"I'm moving out," Hartmann said as she flew on ahead.

"Wait, hold on!" Barkhorn said quickly as she snapped back to reality.

I chuckled softly as we flew to catch up with our younger friend.

I hope Roland's staying out of trouble, though with his luck he's probably off fighting a battle without us.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Oddly enough, I sneezed before I started feeling a warm feeling wash over me. Closing my eyes and checking the auras around me, I could sense three newcomers behind me. Their auras felt familiar...

"Look who's here!" Charlotte said as she turned around.

I opened my eyes, and we all turned to look and were surprised: flying toward us were Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke, Gertrud Barkhorn, and Erica Hartmann.

"Commander Minna!" Yoshika said quickly. "Barkhorn! And Hartmann!"

"Hey there!" I shouted quickly as I waved my left hand above my head. "You're just in time for the ass-whooping!"

"Hey there, Roland," I heard Erica greet me over the radio. "It's certainly been a while, huh?"

"I'll say."

We soon readied our Striker Units as the three newcomers opened fire on the Neuroi.

"Commander Minna!" we heard Mio say over the radio. "All-out assault!"

"We're right on it," Minna said in return. "Formation! Let's go!"

"Roger that, ma'am!" we all said as we joined the Karlsland Witches.

"Good to see you're here with us, Roland," Minna told me as I flew next to her. "This will make fighting the Neuroi that much easier."

"Same here, commander," I told her. "Though...you got a spare gun?"

"Here," Minna reached around her right hip and grabbed a pistol, throwing it to me. When I caught and analyzed it, I saw that it was a Browning HP pistol. "Something you're familiar with, Roland."

"Thanks." I checked the amount of ammo inside and saw that it had a full clip. "Perfect. Should last me a while." I flipped the safety switch to the "live" position.

She actually thought about me before she left from...wherever it was she was at before now.

"How did you get here, Sage?" Erica decided to ask as we flew.

"Went to Fuso to do some rallies, got pulled onto a plane, and wound up in this battle," I summarized. Well, that was about the best I could do for a summary.

"Let's hope you don't disappoint, Sage," Gertrud told me with a slight smile.

Let's hope I don't: I didn't really train with a gun a lot during the last six months, but I have no choice but to go with the flow, huh? "Don't worry. I'm not going down that easily..."

"Alright," Minna said as she stopped and pointed ahead. "Commence attack!"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

Draco, Lucchini, and I were the first ones to fight the Neuroi as it decided to turn tail and try to run. We fired our weapons into it quickly before I watched Lucchini fly toward it, glowing white. The Neuroi tried firing at her, but she put up a barrier to protect herself as she soon sliced through its right side with her barrier, causing damage. I then glanced to the side as Draco glowed red and snapped the fingers on his right hand.

"Overblast!" he called out as a streak of flames flew through the Neuroi's left side.

"Nice aim there, Draco," I complimented as I gave off a smile.

"Not a problem at this point. Now let's go get Lucchini."

We then flew toward Lucchini in order for me to catch up to her using my speed, catching her as we recovered and decided to keep attacking.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's_ POV

Roland and I fired our weapons at the Neuroi as it flew toward us. In response, it tried firing lasers at us, but luckily most of the shots missed their mark. Besides, all the shots that did managed to reach us were blocked by my barrier (though Roland wasn't too shabby in helping out with defenses despite not having a stronger barrier. Then again, he focused more on avoidance when he fought. At least, I hope he does).

"Hey, commander?" I heard Roland ask as we reloaded our weapons (I had to hand him an extra clip seeing as the pistol he had was originally with me) and the Neuroi flew past us. "You mind if I go ahead and do something?"

"What are you thinking?" I asked in return. Knowing him, I had to see if he was going to think of something reckless or of that nature.

All he did was give off a smirk.

Oh dear...he's thinking of using _that_, isn't he?

XXXXXXXXXX

_Perrine's POV_

I flew after the Neuroi as it ran, flying past Commander Minna and Roland during the chase. I wasn't worried about them right now, though: the commander and Roland had each others' backs. I just know it.

Besides, Roland wouldn't allow one of us to get killed.

I spun my way past a few lasers before I flung my left arm out from my side, my body beginning to generate electricity. I soon flew past it as I gave it a sudden jolt, the Neuroi now being lit up like a Christmas light. While I don't think I did any damage, I think I got rid of the shield because it suddenly flashed white before giving off some energy and returning to its normal look.

"Lynne," I said into the radio. "Get a shot off if you can."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Lynette's POV_

_Alright, _I told myself as I looked down the barrel of my sniper rifle, trying to find a shot to do some damage to the Neuroi. _Focus and don't panic..._

I soon fired off a magic-charged round that hit an area of the Neuroi that was still glowing white, and the resulting blow made it cry out in pain as white smoke came out of the impact point.

"Nice shot, Lynne," I heard Roland say over the radio.

"Thanks," I replied. It wasn't too hard. Though now I have two reasons to fight at my best.

I reloaded and watched as the Neuroi flew off to avoid more shots from me.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Sanya's POV_

Once Lynne had fired off her shot, the Neuroi decided to try fleeing once again, this time going into the clouds while firing lasers at us. Eila grabbed my right hand as we flew, and she used her magic to dodge each shot while she led me onward. When the Neuroi left the clouds, we flew ahead and above it before Eila pulled me up to a position where she could hold me steady as we flew by, wrapping her left arm around my stomach. I fired off a round when we were passing by, and the Neuroi gave off a quick cry as the rocket exploded against it.

"Target hit," I said.

"Nice shooting, Sanya," Eila complimented.

I nodded my head. As long as we keep together, the thirteen of us can't lose to this thing.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Erica's POV_

I flew towards the Neuroi once Sanya got her shot to hit the enemy, and I was quickly avoiding the lasers as it shot at me. Thinking quickly, I spun my body through the air as I activated Sturm, and soon I punched a clean hole through the underside of the attacking Neuroi.

"Way to punch through, Hartmann!" I heard Roland say over the radio.

I could see Trude as she flew past me, ready to make her shots count.

"Good luck, Trude!" I called out.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Gertrud's POV_

I readied both of my guns as I approached the Neuroi, and soon I was firing at it. I think I used about forty rounds before I decided to change tactics, flipping my guns into the air a short distance while I readied my magic ability before taking on the Neuroi again. I slammed my guns into one of its fins before I reached around its middle and punched the barrels of the guns in. I soon flew through the ensuing smoke as I finished my attack.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"The core is out!" we heard Yoshika say over our radios.

I squinted my eyes to look through the smoke that had been a result of Gertrud's run against the enemy and, once the smoke cleared, saw that the core had indeed been revealed.

"I've got this!" Mio added as I soon watched her fly toward the Neuroi herself.

"I'm in, too," I added as I flipped the safety switch on to the "safe" position before tossing back to Minna, the Karlsland Witch next to me catching it with her left hand as her gun was in her other hand. "Hey, Hijikata? If you're hearing this, let me show you why they call me the 'Neuroi Witch'."

I called out to the red aura from long ago and soon felt the familiar glow with the energy that I had come to know as it covered my whole body.

"Sage, what are you planning?" I heard Gertrud ask over the radio.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest as the aura became stronger. I soon felt my Striker Unit open up as I watched those red lines from before cover my arms.

"Neuroi Mode..." I started, entering the final stages of the transformation. "..._ACTIVATE!_"

I sent my arms to the side once I said it, and I was soon floating there, the powers of the Neuroi core inside me now being tapped into.

"This is why..." I said. While I didn't specify who I was referring to, I was hoping that Hijikata could see this. "This is why...I earned the nickname..."

I floated there as Mio continued her run, the Neuroi now charging up its lasers to try shooting her down.

"Mio!" Minna said in fear.

"I'm alright!" Mio replied.

It's time...

I powered on the wrist-blade from my right wrist as I kicked up the Striker Unit and charged at the Neuroi along with Mio. The Neuroi, for some reason, tried firing at me, but it might as well have shot at Yoshika for the good it did: while my normal shield didn't last very long, the shield I had in Neuroi Mode was stronger, and I felt the beam dissipate as it passed over my barrier and around me. Mio soon cut her way through the Neuroi once again, and I soon watched the core (which had been cut cleanly in two) pop above the ripped body. Thinking quickly, I adjusted my course and swung my wrist-blade at it, cutting the halves in half again.

"That's it, bastard!" I shouted as I flew past the core as it exploded into nothingness, its body following suit. "Let's see you regenerate your ass now!"

As I left Neuroi Mode, I could feel a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over my body, and my Striker Unit reacted to this loss of energy by powering down and disappearing.

Soon I was falling toward the water, feeling the wind going past me as I fell down head first.

I was drifting in and out of consciousness as I fell, and I looked at the defeated Neuroi while I was on my way toward my destination.

_If that's..._ I began as I drifted in and out of consciousness. _If that's how the Neuroi are now...then we've got a lot on our plate..._

"Gotcha!" one of the girls said as she managed to catch me in her arms.

We stopped in the air a few seconds later, and I barely made out Minna looking at me. I think she was holding me like I was a bride.

"Are you okay, Roland?" she asked.

I cracked a faint smile as I placed my left hand on her left shoulder.

"I'm fine..." I told her as I laid my head on her right shoulder. "I just need...some rest...and then I'll...go and kick the little...Neuroi's asses..."

I think I blacked out now.

_**The Neuroi flying over the Adriatic Sea, while it had cost humanity some ships when it attacked the nearby fleet, had been defeated by the combined might of a group of Witches, one of them being the Neuroi Witch himself. With this victory, there may be hope for Venezia's freedom as well as Romagna's protection. The Witches that fought over the sea had all flown ahead and met up at the nearby base. All but three, as the Fuso Witches and Roland boarded the sea plane once again in order to take the ride to the base while letting Roland recover from his power drain...**_

XXXXXXXXX

It was sunset, and I have a massive migraine right about now.

Ugh, I can't believe this: I go into Neuroi Mode, help Mio wipe out that Neuroi, and I fainted?! The first time I activated it, I had a lot of energy left over, dammit!

What, was that a convenient plot device at the time?

Anyways, I was with Yoshika as we walked up the stairs after leaving the plane, my backpack resting on my back. I was lucky to have been placed back on the plane after fainting, though I still have to ask who put me there.

"You alright, Roland-kun?" the little Fuso Witch asked me.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I had my right palm resting against my forehead. "Yeah..." I really forgot how much it took out of me. Not using it for the last six months was already a poor sign, and I think I put too much energy into Neuroi Mode.

I looked out at the water. For some reason I wasn't clear on right now, I could see a few handfuls of (what I could only call) Roman columns jutting out of the water's surface. Up ahead, to the right of the direction we were going, was what I could only assume was a sort of Roman (again, what I could call it) fortress or something.

Wait, _did_ the Romans build fortresses?

"You sure?" Yoshika added. "I mean, I've seen you enter that...form a couple of times now, but..."

"Really, I'm fine, Yosh. Nothing to worry about." I rubbed my forehead gently as I groaned lightly before putting my hand down.

Yoshika frowned slightly. I think she was a little worried about my current state. "Okay..."

I smiled faintly. "Besides, I don't think a migraine will kill me right now. Too sudden." At least, let's hope not.

That'd be a stupid way to go: a migraine. Maybe not so much when combined with it being an effect from having entered Neuroi Mode after about six months of inactivity (using it, mind you).

We finally reached the top of the steps and were rewarded with a hug from Lynette.

_Bonk._

Ow, I think I have a small concussion now thanks to my head hitting Yoshika's when Lynette hugged us.

"Yoshika, Roland," the Britannian Witch said as she had us in the hug. "I'm so glad to see you guys again!"

"Thanks for the minor concussion, Lynne..." I groaned as I gave off a weak smile. I think those little Neuroi from before were back...oh, never mind.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Lynette let go of us quickly, and I was soon holding the back of my head with my right hand.

"It's fine, Lynne. Not as bad as Yoshika when I saw her." I looked at the now-blushing little Fuso Witch. I don't think she'd live that down if I blabbed about it... "Anyways, we heard about the situation brewing here and decided that we had to come. Besides, we can't leave friends to fight this alone."

"I'm so glad you two came back for me. Well, for all of us." I think Lynette had a bit of redness in her cheeks.

What was she blushing for? "Same here, I guess."

"You know," Charlotte said as she, Draco, Francesca, and Perrine looked at us. "I never thought I'd see Yoshika here again."

"Hey, what about me?" I asked, feigning hurt feelings.

"You weren't exactly supposed to be here based on your past, remember?"

"Past?" Draco asked, confused.

I looked at the male Witch. Right, he wasn't around when my past was revealed...

"We'll tell you later," I told him. I take it at least Francesca didn't let my past slip. It wasn't that I didn't have trust in her, but being rather...hyperactive had some issues. One thing being the possible slippage of sensitive information.

"Um, weren't you two supposed to be in Africa?" Perrine asked the two girls next to her.

"Uh, yeah!" Francesca told the Gallian Witch. "But that was before we heard Romagna needed us."

"Speaking of that," I said as I remembered one of the letters they had sent me. "How was the trip?"

"Not too bad," Charlotte replied. "It was rather intriguing to go there again."

I then turned to Eila and Sanya. "How come you two are here? Weren't you supposed to be in Suomos?"

"Oh," Eila said as she put her right hand on her head as she recounted why they were here. "Sanya and I were supposed to return to Suomos today, but we accidently boarded the wrong train and ended up at the Adriatic Sea."

I looked at the Suomos Witch intently.

"Is that entirely accurate?" I asked her. The last time they messed up on trains was back during the final hours of the Battle for Britannia. And she had given a rather flimsy reason for their appearance then.

"No, not really," Sanya said in return. "Eila felt that there was something going to happen here, and so we came as soon as we could."

I flashed a toothy smile. "Not too bad, then. Better being told in advance by magic or something than having to learn it while you're trying to find someone at a Fuso base."

I could see Minna and Mio a few feet from the group. They were discussing something, and I think it had something to do with the Reppumaru. well, I could only assume it was: the fact that Mio raised the Reppumaru just to point the blade into the air might have something to do with telling me about the topic at hand.

Soon, I turned around and watched as Yoshika began trying to feel Lynette's breasts, Francesca right behind her as Charlotte, Draco, and Perrine looked on. I think the other male here had a slight blush, but he looked like he had seen things like this before.

Me, however...

I had to turn away blushing madly.

You know, I think I'm beginning to remember a reason why I enjoyed being away from these girls...

"So I assume that you had been busy with the rallies?" Minna asked me as she and Mio came to join the group.

"Huh?" I asked as my blush disappeared quickly. "Oh, yeah! Very busy! Been to a lot of places! Just got to Fuso for some, like I told Erica-I mean, Hartmann!" Great...my blush was replaced with me stumbling over my words. Then again, I wasn't sure how Minna would end up treating me. On the one hand, she did let me back on the team, but what if...? "Anyways, I heard about...uh..."

I watched Minna smile at me, and I was speechless.

"It's good to see you again, Roland," she told me.

"Uh, y-you too, ma'am!" I replied, still stumbling a little.

XXXXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, and Minna had gathered us around to tell us some things. Yoshika and Lynette had decided to stand next to me, the Britannian Witch on my right and the little Fuso Witch on the other side.

"Alright, listen up," she began. "These are our orders from the Allied general headquarters: you are back in active duty. You are to report to the Adriatic Sea to intercept and destroy the new Neuroi that has invaded Romagna. We will be sure to send you all the necessary equipment and materials to complete this task. Until then, do not hesitate to contact the commanding officers for anything you may require. As for the man named Roland Sage, he is to be returned the rank of lieutenant and is given free will on deciding to follow you into battle."

Mio leaned in and said something to the commander. I'm not sure what it was, but based on Minna's response it had something to do with the orders themselves.

"Air Commodore Galland signed this herself," Minna added as she walked up to me and looked at me with a warm smile. "Roland...I don't know how to ask this, but...you had stayed with us through thick and thin, and you risked your life to help us more times than I care to count. I-no, _we_ would be honored if you joined us for this one. Like old times."

I turned around and looked back at the sea as I walked out toward the edge, the orders still fresh in my mind. I had come along because I had been told to keep an eye on Yoshika, but now with my rank returned and me being able to decide my own fate...

I stopped a few feet from the others as I lowered my head in thought.

What reason do I have to stay? I had no way of ensuring that any one of us would survive the upcoming battles. I had never watched anything beyond the first season, and now that was moot. I can't just join them and not be able to help them out a lot.

Then again, didn't I tell Yoshika and Mio that I'd fight to protect everyone on this planet? Especially them?

"Back when you first met me, Minna," I said slowly, "I had asked myself what I had in front of me once I learned that you were willing to take me on as a member of the team. I chose to come because I wanted to learn how to be a Witch. While I can no longer use that for a reason, I have found a better one..." I turned around, raised my head, and faced Minna and the girls, who had turned to look at me. "I want to protect you girls. I know that saying it might sound a bit corny, but I always had the best interests for you girls. So..." I returned to her and extended my right hand in front of me. "_I_ would be the one honored to rejoin the Strike Witches...Commander Minna."

Minna grabbed my hand and shook it gently before letting it go and grabbing me in a quick embrace. I just let her stay there as she embraced me. "It's great to have you back, Roland..."

I smiled as I patted her back with my left hand gently. "Same here, commander..."

I looked at the others, who were smiling back at me. Well, most of them: I think Mio had a sort of smirk, and Gertrud looked neutral.

Soon, we left the embrace as Minna returned to her last position. I walked back to my spot between Yoshika and Lynette.

"Or at least being forced to anyways," Erica said nonchalantly concerning the orders given to us.

"You're being disrespectful," Gertrud replied coolly. "Orders are orders. Besides, at least Sage...well, _Lieutenant_ Sage is back to help us out."

Erica sighed. "Yeah, at least Roland's here, you're right about that..."

"Hey, Lynne," Yoshika said. "Roland-kun. What do you think it means that we all met up again?"

"Um, well..." Lynette tried.

"Means that the Neuroi have another thing coming for them," I said with a smile. _And that my sanity's probably going to regret me staying here..._

Minna gave off another smile as she looked at us. "I, Lieutenant-Colonel Minna Wilcke, with Major Mio Sakamoto, Captain Gertrud Barkhorn, Captain Charlotte Yeager, Lieutenant Erica Hartmann, Lieutenant Sanya Litvyak, Lieutenant Perrine Clostermann, Ensign Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, Ensign Francesca Lucchini, Master-Sergeant Lynette Bishop, Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji, and Lieutenant Roland Sage..." Minna paused for a bit before she looked up at the sky. "Together, we are the Strike Witches, and the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing is hereby reformed."

We all saluted Minna.

"Roger!" we said as one.

XXXXXXXXXX

_**Dear Letter,**_

_**It's been a while since I wrote one of these letters for my personal thoughts.**_

_**Anyways, I wanted to reflect on what I have going on currently: the Neuroi have control of Venezia, and now we have the Strike Witches to try getting it back.**_

_**And, get this: yours truly has returned to the front lines.**_

_**Yep. As I'm writing this, I'm a little scared: I have no idea what's coming for us in our battles due to having only watched the first season. However, I do know this: I made a promise to protect everyone here, including the Strike Witches themselves. As long as I'm holding on to the Neuroi core that rests inside me, I won't allow anyone else to die before my eyes.**_

_**I'm also concerned about that nightmare I had on the plane. Who was the Witch who saved my life? Was she someone I knew? I couldn't recognize the voice. Is it possible that the Witches I meet would play a part in the legend I'm supposed to fulfill?**_

_**Then again, what am I supposed to do about the fate of the Neuroi? The way I understand it, I was the one who would choose their fate, but how? In a battle? And how come I had that vision of the Witch's death anyways? Didn't that thing from before say that the section for the vision would be erased once I learned what I needed?**_

_**Then again, is it even part of that?**_

_**Hang on...it's getting late and I'm feeling tired.**_

_**Oh, before I sign off this letter, I better say something: apparently due to the suddenness of the request (or something or other...), we have a base...with only six rooms available. We had a brief talk about it...**_

"Hold on," I said quickly as I stood inside the dining room, the girls and Draco standing around the table. "Repeat that again!"

"Because of the suddenness of the request for a base of operations for the Strike Witches," Minna told me, "we only have six rooms to accommodate thirteen Witches."

Right, maybe I should clarify: apparently due to Draco's connection to Charlotte, the male sergeant had been invited to join the Strike Witches for a while. He was rather...happy to join, something I have to ask him later.

"But the last time we had a base we had rooms for everyone!" I snapped.

"Yeah, well," Gertrud added, "you signed up for the military. You should have realized something like this happening sooner or later."

"I guess we'll begin with room arrangements," Minna said. "Any volunteers?"

"Sanya and I'll use the same room," Eila said quickly. I'm not surprised: the Suomos Witch and her Orussian partner were rather...close to each other.

"Alright, any others?"

"Shirley's mine!" Francesca shouted as she clung on to Charlotte.

"I guess Lucchini's sleeping with me, then," the buxom Witch said with a chuckle.

"Hartmann and I will take a room," Gertrud added. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on her and make sure she's acting like a proper Karlsland soldier."

I'm _so_ glad that I'm not going to be in the same room as her. Gertrud would probably get me up early. A lot.

"Hey, Yoshika," Lynette asked the little Fuso Witch. "Do you want to share a room?"

"Sure thing, Lynne!" Yoshika told her happily.

"Can I pair up with you, major?" Perrine tried asking Mio, though she looked like she was trying to suppress a blush.

I wonder if she still has that crush on Mio?

Mio gave off a hearty laugh before replying with, "Why are you acting so shy for, Perrine? I'd be happy to be in the same room as you."

Right...Mio was rather ignorant of how Perrine was feeling.

"Now the question comes down to how we accommodate the boys," Mio concluded.

"Draco can sleep in our room," Charlotte said. "It'd be like old times."

I blinked as I looked at the girl in question. Like old times? Are they...

"Good thinking, Shirley," Mio commented. "Dracon's well-being is safely in your hands. Now, what about the lieutenant?"

There was a silence among the group. While it was a no-brainer that everyone would be having someone to sleep with, the real question was what to do with the only male on the team that hadn't been assigned a room.

The first one to break the silence was Yoshika.

"Um," the little Fuso Witch began, "Roland-kun can...stay in our room..."

"Yeah!" Lynette agreed. "I mean, we don't really mind. After all, we are rather good friends."

"I hate to break it to you," Perrine decided to point out, "but you two already have enough for the room. Besides, Roland's eighteen."

That...was a rather mixed argument: I _was_ eighteen, so it probably wasn't a good idea. But if the room was the problem then why didn't she say anything about Draco's placement? Right, she probably did the math...

"Oh yeah?" Erica decided to pose. "If you're so concerned about Roland's sleeping arrangement, then how about letting him into your room?"

"Eh?" Perrine asked as she gained a deeper blush. "B-But..."

"Major Sakamoto's his age. You wouldn't have to worry about having something weird happening to you."

Erica, you're not helping...

"Why don't you take Roland in then?" Perrine snapped as she regained her composure.

"Not to be disrespectful toward Lieutenant Sage," Gertrud replied quickly, "but we can't handle anyone else." The disciplined Karlsland Witch then looked at her blonde companion, who was giving off a meek smile.

Not to be mean, but I wasn't planning on sleeping in your room anyways...

"Roland can sleep in our room," Sanya said softly.

"Sanya?" Eila asked as she looked at the Orussian Witch. "You're getting in on this?"

I blinked in stunned silence.

Hang on, this is turning out like the day after our battle with the Warlock.

"You know," Minna began as she cleared her throat cutely (how the hell could she do the clearing of the throat in a cute fashion?). "Now that I think about it, Roland would be better off sleeping in my quarters."

"Thanks for the offer, commander," I told her quickly, "but I can go sleep on the table or the couch. I don't really mind."

"If you did that, then we'd have to worry about your back hurting. Plus, sleeping on tables wouldn't be good for the food."

What's wrong with sleeping on a couch, though? I've slept on couches before. I think I can handle it.

"Yeah," Mio added as she thought about it. "Come to think of it, you're the only one without a roommate." The major nodded her head in agreement and added in a calm tone, "Then it's settled: Sage, you are to report to Commander Minna's room for the night!"

My mouth was wide open as I was completely stunned: I'm sharing a room with a girl? One that I like? And _how can the major say that last bit in a calm manner?_ I mean, the way she said it sounded like it was just routine.

"Sage?" Mio asked me. I think she noticed my expression.

"Huh?" I said as I shook my head to recover from the major's last response. "Right. Sharing a room with Commander Minna, got it..." I laughed nervously.

_**Yeah, I'm sharing a room with Minna. Is that good or bad? Not too sure right now.**_

_**Anyways, I have to get going. Tomorrow is going to be the first day of life on the new base, so wish me luck.**_

_**Signed, Roland Sage.**_

_**P.S.: Now that I've returned to the Strike Witches, I wonder what crazy adventures I'm in store for here...**_

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika: Next time on **Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return**..._

_Lynette: Can you believe it, Yoshika? We get to be together again!_

_Roland: Okay, training you three I could see...but why me?_

_Mio: You wanted to learn how to be a proper Witch, right? Well, here's your chance. Besides, it helps with those girls' morale._

_Roland: Yeah, but broomsticks? Even if they were a Witch's means of transportation, you're looking at someone who has never even ridden one before!_

_Perrine: No time like the present then._

_Roland: *sigh* And so begins the first steps of this adventure I found myself in._

_Lynette: Next time: **That Which We Can Do**._

_?: So you're the Neuroi Witch everyone's been talking about?_

_Roland: Uh, yes, ma'am!_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Well, there's the next chapter in the story.**

**It was a little difficult to deal with the major fight scene for this arc, so I hope that I did fine with the results. Let me know what you thought of that set of scenes.**

**On a different note, just for a heads-up: I'm considering going back to S_trike Heroes_ and taking a look through it for mistakes. It's been a while since I finished it, but I found typos and mistakes that weren't really intended when I re-read it. So I figured that I would take some time to go through and correct those mistakes if I was able to, which I should.**

**Oh, and if I go through with it, don't fret: I'll still be updating this story.**

**Other than that, please read and review, and I'll see you in the next arc.**

**Thanks.**


	4. That Which We Can Do (Part 1)

**Okay, welcome one and all to the next chapter in _Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_.**

**Alright, before I get going on the story itself, it's time for replies to reviews:**

_jaku_ _uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

_fuji92_**: Yeah, Roland was reminded of his last day at the base after the Battle of Britannia when that particular scene happened. As for Sanya's statement, she _did_ end up sleeping in Roland's room a few times. As for the rest of the review, it's hard to see how Roland will actually fare against brooms. Either way, you'll have to read to find out how he did for his first time.**

_Dragonman75_**: Well, based on the math it does make sense. Though for Roland Mio's way of confirming his sleeping arrangement wasn't something he would consider being said in a neutral tone.**

_chimeraguard_**: It's possible given Roland's luck so far.**

**Okay, with all the reviews having been answered, let's get going toward a new day...and the start of new experiences for Roland...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 4: That Which We Can Do (Part 1)**

_After a new maelstrom of war broke out in Europe, the Witches who previously battled Neuroi over Britannia gathered from around the world. These girls reformed the proud and honorable 501st Joint Fighter Wing, taking to the skies once more to drive out the enemy Neuroi. Along with the addition of newcomer Draco L. Dracon, these lovely ladies have a old ally with them: the man who had become known as the Neuroi Witch himself, Roland Sage. Now, with this team of Witches assembled once again, will they be able to defeat this new enemy?_

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

I turned the delivery truck's engine off as we arrived at the location of the base where we were to grab some much-needed supplies. I had decided to bring Miyafuji and Sage with me, the sergeant so that she could see some of the surroundings a little and the lieutenant because I figured that he could help lift the heavier supplies.

"So we're just going to collect these supplies and head back?" Sage asked me as he undid his seat belt.

"That's right, lieutenant," I told him as I opened my door. Sage followed suit and helped Miyafuji out of the vehicle before they went around the front of the truck and joined up with me.

"Really great that they have supplies for us. I was afraid we were going to have to scrounge for our goods or something."

I raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"I'll tell you when we're back on base. Just in case."

Right, I remember Sage's situation: because of the fact that he was from a different dimension, the only ones who knows about Sage's secret were Maloney and his group back in Britannia, the members of the Strike Witches (minus Draco currently), and the Neuroi Witch himself. Maybe some other people, but so far I haven't heard any claims about it in the news. "Alright. Hopefully you remember."

"I think it depends on if you remember to ask me."

"Sakamoto?" Miyafuji asked. "Roland-kun? Where are the supplies anyways?"

I walked to the side of the truck they had gotten out on, the sergeant and the lieutenant following me like a pair of lost ducklings. Maybe more like curious in their case. Right in front of us was a hangar that was closed for the moment.

"It's right in there, Miyafuji," I told her as I nodded at the hangar. "Don't tell me you both missed it when you were getting out..."

"I guess we did." Miyafuji chuckled nervously.

"Sorry about that, major," Sage added as he joined the sergeant in the chuckling.

"It's not funny, you two," I said quickly. "Start paying more attention, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Miyafuji replied as she stopped chuckling and saluted quickly.

"Aye-aye, major!" Sage added as he joined her in the salute.

"Anyways," I continued as I looked around, "there should have been help here already."

"Am I handling the lifting by myself?" Sage looked a little perplexed.

While I could see the lieutenant using his gyrokinesis to lift the supplies one at a time, I wasn't sure if he was going to have enough energy left to finish the job. "Can you even handle it?"

"Should be able to. I've been practicing my magic when I got a chance, and I can honestly say that I can lift maybe two hundred pounds with gyrokinesis right now."

"Yet you seem to faint when you leave Neuroi Mode after use."

Sage looked a little hurt. "That's a different story."

I could hear the hangar doors open up.

"There you are, Mio," a voice said, cutting our conversation short. "Sorry, but we were getting organized for the transfer."

I watched as Sage ended up blinking as he looked around our surroundings before his eyes focused on the opening made by the hangar doors.

Standing there was a brown-haired girl wearing a military jacket colored white, with white loafers covering her feet. Her brown eyes looked at us before she came out and approached us.

"Ah," I said. "Hello, Junko."

I watched as Sage blinked while looking at me and Junko, who came to a stop just in front of us.

"Okay," he began as he pointed a finger at Junko. "I hate to sound like an idiot, but who exactly is she?"

"Right," I said quickly. "Miyafuji, Sage, this is Captain Junko Takei. Junko, these are Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji and Lieutenant Roland Sage."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Miyafuji said as she gave off a quick salute.

"Same here, captain," Sage added as he followed suit.

"Junko and I have known each other for a while," I continued. "Kinda like how you and Miyafuji have known each other, lieutenant."

Sage looked between me and Junko once again. "So she's like you?" His face looked like one who just discovered something he shouldn't have.

I laughed. "No, Junko handles things a little differently from me." I wasn't sure if he actually thought that I was a little too tough on trainees when I was training them, but I think he was trying to think about more possibilities than appearances.

Sage gave off a sigh that sounded like relief. "Thank you for clearing that up."

XXXXXXXXXX

"These supplies are a lifesaver," I said to Junko as Miyafuji was busy trying to help some of the men and Sage move said supplies onto a truck for transport. I was facing away from her, and I soon looked at her while moving my head slightly. "Thank you so much." I turned my head away and said, "I need to ask you something. I read the report. Is it true?"

"Yes," Junko's voice was lowered as she said that. Her voice became stronger as she continued with, "Finally, it appeared we were going to make contact with the Neuroi. But in the end, we simply failed to reach an understanding." I clenched my right fist tightly as I turned to face her. "An even more vicious Neuroi started to appear." She then turned to face me as well. "Please be cautious, Mio."

"Of course," I said. "The next time we meet, I hope it will be under better circumstances." I smiled slightly before I looked at Sage. "Though I'm more concerned with Sage." He hasn't read (or probably even know about) the report yet, and if what Junko told me was true...then chances are that the Neuroi are going to be after the lieutenant a lot more than usual. If they wiped out the old Neuroi completely, the only one left around that generation is him due to the Neuroi core inside him. And if he goes...

Junko turned around to look at the lieutenant as well. "He's the one everyone calls the Neuroi Witch, right?"

I nodded. "He's the very same."

"Looks too good for him to be a Neuroi."

"Then we're fortunate that he's not."

"Is he aware of what happened in the operation?"

"No. I'll have to tell him: it's something he needs to know." To Miyafuji and Sage, I shouted, "Let's go, Miyafuji! You too, Sage!"

"Oh, okay!" Miyafuji said quickly.

"On it," Sage added.

"Take care of yourself, Junko," I told the captain.

"Don't worry," Junko replied. "Good luck, and be safe."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"So they made contact with the Neuroi?" Yoshika asked as we were driving back to base with the supplies, the little Fuso Witch sitting between me and Mio, the latter of whom was driving the truck. The major had been kind enough to tell us about something she had read about in a report, Operation Trajanus.

"Technically, no," Mio told her while keeping her eye on the road (I would say eyes, but she had that eye patch over her right eye). "They came very close."

"Very close is better than nothing at all," I said as I looked out the window. Though "close" really only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

"However, just then, right before contact, the new Neuroi appeared out of the blue, and it proceeded to obliterate its humanoid counterpart."

"A Neuroi attacked a Neuroi?" Yoshika asked in surprise. "Why would it do that?"

"Makes a bit of sense," I said quickly in return. "They were 'taking out the trash', to coin a phrase. Besides, it's hardly that surprising: if you wanted, you could count the Warlock and myself doing that." Well, it was true: we both had (in my case, still have) a Neuroi core in us. If that's not grounds for classifying us as Neuroi for that scenario, then I don't know what does.

"We're not sure," Mio said, and I looked at the major. "All we do know is that we were extraordinarily lucky. Captain Takei did get away, as did the other soldiers who accompanied her."

"Wow," Yoshika breathed in awe.

"Good thing too," I said as I nodded my head. "Next time, we may not be so lucky."

"The Five Hundred and Fourth Wing is in the process of being reformed. But it'll take quite a while to assemble more Witches. And in the meantime, the Neuroi are headed toward the south, from Venezia to Romagna. Ground forces are pushing back as far as they can, but if the Neuroi decide to launch another serious attack they won't be near enough. Only the Strike Witches would be able to defeat them."

"Talk about putting pressure on us again," I sighed.

"Sakamoto!" Yoshika said quickly. "Please let us help! I wanna fight to protect Romagna too!"

"Same here, major," I added. "I'm not letting you girls do this on your own."

I swore Mio gave off a smile as she replied with, "Excellent. I was hoping you'd say that. You two will begin training as soon as we get back."

Yoshika gasped slightly before returning to a determined composure. "Ma'am."

I nodded my head. I couldn't wait to get some training back under my belt.

XXXXXXXXXX

And the training thing for the girls right now...running.

I watched Lynette, Yoshika, and Perrine run across my vision. However, the three of them were panting hard.

Lynette stopped and bent over as she tried catching her breath. Yoshika, not paying attention to where she was going, crashed into the Britannian Witch, and the two of them fell to the ground. Perrine stopped right behind them as she had her right hand over her chest as she was panting as well.

"No doubt they're definitely out of shape," Minna said as she and Mio were watching the three girls from right next to me while resting against the wall.

"Not surprising," Mio said, a wooden _bokken_ resting in her right hand. "After the fighting in Britannia ended, all three of them left the military. They've been out of practice for over half a year."

"Nice to know that," I said from below them. "However, I do want to know why I have to do push-ups while they run."

It was true: I had been doing push-ups this whole time, a certain brownish-haired Karlsland Witch sitting on my back.

It's not like I'm complaining about the unfairness. I really don't picture any of those three going through what I'm going through.

...And I don't think anyone heard my question...

"And this display isn't even the worst of it," Gertrud said from her perch on my back. "Combat training this morning was a disaster."

"Don't remind me..." I groaned. I could remember that one all too well: apparently, Yoshika had not watched where she was flying, and she crashed into Lynette, who then collided with Perrine (who was barely noticing them coming toward her). This then resulted in the three of them flying in three directions, Lynette flying into me as I was turning around to look at the source of the commotion.

Let's just say it was not a good time to be me again...

"Major, it's much too dangerous to send them into battle like this," Gertrud concluded.

"And actually letting someone with a Neuroi core in them go isn't?" I asked in a questioning tone.

The Karlsland captain looked down at me. "You're different, though you shouldn't be one to talk anyways. Really, you're not putting as much effort into this as you used to."

Hey, you spend close to six months attending one morale rally after another without a lot of breaks to keep in shape and get back to me about your experiences.

"I agree," Mio said suddenly.

I blinked as I asked, "About me or about them?"

Mio didn't answer, and it seemed like she was in thought about something.

"Oh, Roland," Minna decided to say as she thought of something. she even placed the tip of her right index finger on her chin as she said it. "That reminds me...do you mind me borrowing your vest for a while?"

"Huh?" I asked as Gertrud got off of me and I looked at the commander, standing up as I did so. "Why are you asking me that?"

"I was hoping to do something for you, but I need your vest to go through with it."

I dusted my knees off really quick. "Uh, could you maybe have me come along as well? I don't really want to give up this vest..." "Vesty" and I...damn, I'm giving it a name; I think I finally cracked for real. Anyways, "Vesty" and I have been together since we were reunited the day Minna came to fetch me. I can't just give it up that easily.

"Roland, please?"

I sighed as I slipped the vest off and handed it to Minna. "Here, commander. Promise me that you'll give it back when you're done with it."

Minna grabbed it and held it gently as she smiled softly. "Don't worry, Roland. I'll give it back to you in good condition."

"Sage, come with me," Mio ordered.

"Uh, right!" I sounded alert once again as I followed Mio over a little bridge and to where the girls were resting. I was feeling a little uncomfortable without the vest covering my shirt, but I decided to dwell on it at a later time: right now, I wanted to know what Mio had in plan for me.

"Ladies, get up," Mio said once we got there.

Yoshika and Lynette perked up and sat on their knees as I noticed that Perrine had dropped to her knees in a sitting position.

"Yeah," Yoshika began. "We're up, ma'am."

"Yes, major?" Perrine asked as the girls looked at Mio.

Mio slapped the blade of the _bokken_ in her left hand as she said, "Miyafuji, Lynette, Perrine, and Sage, it's time to send you four back to basics."

Apparently, all of us were shocked.

"_Basics?!_" the girls shouted.

"_Me too?!_" I added separately.

Why the hell was I going back to basics? I graduated from training over a year ago, dammit!

XXXXXXXXXX

"That's should be it there," Perrine said as we were flying through the air inside our Striker Units, the Gallian Witch holding what I was only gong to say were directions. We all had our gear: Yoshika's aircraft cannon, Lynette's sniper rifle, Perrine's Bren, and my weapons (the sword, the crowbar, a BAR, and a Browning HP).

Apparently, our destination was some island around here or something (I don't know: I never looked at the map to check), and there was one connected to (I guess) the mainland by a bridge.

Also, I was feeling a little uncertain about not having my vest with me.

Yeah, I know I was talking about it earlier, but I had pushed it to the back for a while and was now thinking about it again.

"Hopefully it is," I said as I looked at Perrine. "I don't want to be away from my vest for too long."

"You should worry less about that thing," Perrine told me.

"Worry less? You know how important that vest is to me?"

"Other than it being something that identified you from the rest of us?"

I sighed. "Yeah, pretty much. Still, I don't feel comfortable without it covering this shirt. Me without it is like the major without her katana or Yoshika without-" I stopped as I blinked. "Without..." Dangerous thoughts were starting to flood my head.

"Without...?" Perrine looked a little intrigued.

I sighed in defeat. "Maybe I should keep my mouth shut now..."

We dove down and came to a hover about a foot off the ground. Well, the girls did: once I reached that height, I simply turned off my Striker Unit and landed on the ground softly.

"So is this where we are?" Lynette asked as we looked around. There was a cottage behind us, and I think there was a barn or something next to us.

At least, I think they were a cottage and a barn.

"Is this really where we're supposed to do our training?" Lynette added.

I'd ask that question too, Lynette: this looks like somewhere you'd go to escape city life for, say, forever. There wasn't even a single sign of life here.

"Yes," Perrine noted as she looked at us. "These are the exact co-ordinates. Major Sakamoto gave them to me herself."

"Really?" Yoshika asked. "Because no one's here." Looking at me, she added, "Do you have any ideas what we'll find here, Roland-kun?"

I'm as clueless as the rest of you. Really.

"Maybe the person we're looking for?" I tried.

Now, before we continue here, let me point something out: the one thing that I was rather familiar with (and this had something to do with the next thing said, this one from a certain Britannian Witch) was, simply put...

"Hey, guys," Lynette said as she pointed a finger up toward the sky. "What's that?"

...Don't ask about the identity of an object falling toward you from up above.

We all looked up and flew back (in my case, jumped back) in time to avoid a falling metallic tub as it clattered onto the ground.

"A Neuroi!" Perrine shouted as she turned and pointed her weapon at the tub.

"Uh, Perrine?" I asked quickly as I raised my right hand. "When have the Neuroi simply dropped from the sky as a metallic tub?" Unless they perfected how to look like a metallic object without showing off a bunch of red lines or something...

"Who are you calling a Neuroi?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Perrine gasped as we looked at the tub.

"It talked to me!" she said, shocked.

"Great..." I said to myself as I shook my head. "This is something I can tell my therapist when I go and see one. My teammate's hearing voices from inanimate objects."

That comment earned me a slam to the back of my head courtesy of Perrine's weapon.

"Ow, that hurts, you know!" I shouted as I rubbed the back of my now-tender head. That gun of hers was very...weighty.

We then looked up and saw an elderly lady floating on a broomstick. I could see that she was a Witch almost instantly due to her having cat ears and a tail sticking out right now. As for her appearance, she wore a red coat with a white collared shirt underneath, and what I could assume was a white skirt with a black edge. Her hair color closely matched Lynette's.

"Ah!" I shouted as I dashed behind Lynette. "It's an actual Witch!" I poked my head out from the side carefully while whimpering in slight fear.

"Barging into people's yards without even saying hello," the newcomer told us as she floated there. "Geez, I swear, kids these days...they don't know manners at all."

Yoshika and Lynette looked at the newcomer, and Yoshika quickly bowed her head.

"Um, yes, hello!" she said quickly.

"Excuse me," Lynette started, "but aren't you Miss Anna Ferrara?"

I looked at the newcomer as she replied with, "Yes, that's me."

"Good," Yoshika said once Anna was identified. "Major Sakamoto gave us strict orders to train here with you. She also told us not to return. Not until you give us a passing grade."

Sadly, those were almost her exact words. The only reason why I was even here in the first place was because Mio had said that, seeing as I wanted to learn how to be a proper Witch, I would benefit from going with them. Besides, she also told me I'd make a great role model (though whether or not I was the 'right way' model I wasn't too sure).

Anna sighed as she looked at us. "Oh well. Go ahead and take those off."

We spent a few minutes getting the girls' Striker Units off and stored inside the building behind us, the devices resting in hay. Soon, we were standing outside, each of us holding a bucket Anna had provided us.

"Bucket?" Yoshika asked as she blinked.

Yes, Yoshika. It's a bucket. The better question would be "What are we doing with buckets?"

"Good," Anna said simply. "You can see."

Joy, I think we ended up with a bit of a smartass here.

"So what are we doing first, ma'am?" I asked carefully.

"First thing first, you need to gather water for dinner tonight as well as your bath," Anna replied.

"We're getting water?" Lynette asked next.

"I guess so," I told her. I fail to see how this counts as training, but at least we're not doing "wax on, wax off" here.

"Let me show you where the well is," Anna said as she moved aside and pointed out in the distance.

I blinked as I found the well out in the distance and pointed at it myself. "Uh, no offense, ma'am, but it's over there?"

"That's really far away," Perrine added.

"Yeah..." Lynette and Yoshika agreed.

"We're in the middle of the sea, ladies and gentleman," Anna added. "That's the only place to get fresh water."

True, but who places a well that far away?

"So correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be smarter to use the Striker Units to get there?" I asked. Well, it did. Unless we had Charlotte's magic to help us, I doubt we'd even make it there by nightfall.

"Of course," Lynette said quickly. "It'll be easier with the Striker Units."

"Yeah," Yoshika added. "Come on, let's get going."

"We'll be back before you know it," Perrine concluded as she made for their Striker Units.

I was about to follow her, but then I noticed that there were five brooms leaning against the wall outside.

There was a catch, wasn't there?

I put the bucket on the ground gently as I grabbed a broom with my left hand. It looked like an ordinary broom to me.

When I glanced at Perrine's progress, Anna had gotten in front of the Gallian Witch as she tried to reach the Striker Units.

"Hold on," she said. "I never said you could use those, did I?"

"Huh?" the girls asked in confusion.

"We're using brooms, then," I concluded.

Yep, there was a catch.

"Well, at least one of you isn't totally brain-dead," Anna remarked as she went to the rest and, grabbing three of them at once, handed them to the girls. "Ta-da! Use these instead."

"I don't understand..." Perrine said.

"Those are brooms," Lynette and Yoshika said as all three of them were looking at the brooms in Anna's hands.

"Didn't the older-generation of Witches have to depend on these to fly?" I asked. "I do remember some things about the Witches I can think of. I think before the Striker Unit was invented they used brooms to fly around. And I guess fight."

"The old generation did have to use these to fly, kid," Anna told me. "Now, follow me."

XXXXXXXXXX

A while later, and we were starting on this moment's little topic: "Broomsticks 101".

Apparently, they work almost like the Striker Units and had some similarities: the girls' animal features were showing right now, and we were all ready for take-off. We even hung the buckets over the handles.

"Let's go!" Yoshika shouted as we started to go and fetch the water.

Apparently, it was a whole hell of a lot easier to fly a Striker Unit than to pilot a simple broomstick. Maybe it was just because I never imagined trying to fly like Harry Potter, but either way it wasn't a very good moment for us.

Why, you ask?

Well, for starters, there was Yoshika trying to fly the broom. I say "trying" not because she was failing to do so per se, but rather because she was somehow reminding me of an _F-Zero_ driver...if you could actually imagine someone like Captain Falcon riding on a broom.

She was simply crashing against the walls of the bridge as she went down the path.

Pinball, anyone?

Lynette had more trouble: apparently, the Britannian Witch had lost control of her broom and was now hanging from the ledge of the bridge.

Perrine? At least she was in the air, even if she was somehow hopping around through it.

Now, I don't really want to explain what happened to me, but I guess it's only fair: I was doing rather fine with flying the blasted thing, but I think I put too much speed into the broom. I tried to slow down, but I ended up putting on the brakes. Because of the speed I had been going, I was soon flying forward as I collided with the water.

Thankfully, I had a barrier to protect myself. Though I did learn something from this moment: apparently I was able to skip across the water like a rock about three times before my speed was slowed down enough for me to actually come to a splash inside the water.

Sadly, due to the strength of my barrier I only really avoided a concussion and some broken bones. I had ended up with a lot of bruises and salt water on my clothes.

"All of you, come here," I heard Anna call out.

I had to fish out the broom before it sank to the bottom completely as well as the bucket and ended up meeting the girls and our trainer about fifteen minutes later, clothes dripping wet. Plus, I had to climb up (I could have activated my Striker Unit and flown back, but the whole point of this was learning how to ride a broom in place of a Striker Unit, right?) the slope of the ground.

"Took you long enough, kid," Ana told me as I shuffled over to the girls and our instructor, dragging the broom's bristles along the ground. My hands were rather sore from having to grip clumps of grass just to climb up to dry land. Not to mention that the edges showed some grass stains.

"Had to find a broom and a bucket, ma'am," I groaned as I slumped to the ground in exhaustion. I wanna take a break now...

"Well, get up. There's still training to do."

"Yes, ma'am..." I stood up and got set up for flight, slipping the bucket over the handle. I was still looking tired, but I could manage. After all, I was only exhausted.

"You four have plenty of magical power to do this," Anna continued as she looked at all of us. "What you do not have is control."

Almost sounds like me back when I first started this whole "fighting alongside the Strike Witches" ordeal. Only I'm not quite sure how accurate that statement is right now.

"You must dominate the broom," Anna added. "Teach it to do what the machines have been doing for you." She walked up to Yoshika and simply raised the broom's nose up. This scored a complaint from the little Fuso Witch about it hurting.

_At least it makes sense that female Witches have been noted for riding brooms,_ I thought as I stood there. _Seeing as there wouldn't be a story about a young wizard written for about another fifty years or so (assuming this world ends up being a close parallel to mine once we get to the time that I came from), I hardly know how to ride one of these. Yeah, I can get it to go and stop, but we do need more control._

"Obviously," Anna replied to Yoshika's complaint. "You're bearing down on the broom. What did you expect?"

She proceeded to do adjustments like that to Lynette and Perrine, each one giving off a similar reaction. When she got to me, she looked at me for a while before simply raising the broom's nose up as well. I didn't even make a face.

I think she noticed my lack of a reaction to it, for she said, "Oh, at least you aren't complaining about the discomfort."

"If you don't mind me saying it," I replied, "I've gotten used to worse. Besides, I can't really seem to complain about it seeing as I'm aching pretty much all over." _You try slamming into the water at the speed of a flying broom, ma'am, _was what I wanted to say, but there were two rules I was trying to follow: respect your elders, and don't get on the bad side of someone who might be the only thing standing between you and a world of pain (well, bigger world, I guess).

Anna nodded as she stepped away and continued her speech. "Listen, up until now you've relied on the Striker Unit machines to do all the work for you. No more. You must forget that in order to become one with your broom."

"What do you mean, 'become one'?" Yoshika asked.

Of course Yoshika had to ask something like that. I'm so glad I'm not answering her question.

"Think of it like this: don't try to ride the broom," Anna said as she tried to simplify her statement so that the little Fuso Witch could understand. "Visualize it as an extension of your mind."

"I think I get it," I said quickly. "It's like imagining a sword as an extension of your arm." Except this thing was going to give you bruises while a sword could lop limbs off and make heads roll.

"So we don't ride it?" Lynette tried.

"That's right," Anna told her. "Imagine that your legs are moving forward and you just have to put magic behind that." She lowered her head as a slight smirk crossed her face. "For a real Witch, it's simple."

And yet for three girls and a guy who didn't have powers until coming here close to a year ago (or something; I think I did say that I wasn't really accurate about time), it's next to, if not, impossible.

At this point, it's _simple, my ass_...

I looked at Perrine as she closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly.

"I'm moving forward," she said softly.

I watched as the girls started giving off a white glow, and I quickly cleared my mind as I focused on doing what Anna had said: becoming one with the broom.

Wouldn't it have made more sense to imagine it as trying to ride a bike or something?

I could feel my aura begin to wash over me.

"I think it's working," Yoshika said, but I barely heard her due to trying to maintain focus on flying my broom.

Soon, I heard Yoshika gave off a cry of surprise, and soon I felt my feet leaving the ground and was floating up to a height of around (I think) twenty feet. Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine were also at that height, though I think they had gotten there before me when I opened my eyes.

"Hey, I'm flying," Yoshika said.

"I know," Lynette added after her cry of surprise. "I am, too."

"I can't believe it actually worked!" Perrine said in amazement.

"I wouldn't doubt it," I concluded as I floated there. "We are doing it correctly." Uh, I hope we are. Are we?

Soon, the girls flew forward as they rose through the air while laughing, me flying right behind them. We were in a line as we flew forward.

"You guys, this is the most amazing thing ever!" Yoshika shouted in glee as we flew. "We're actually flying on brooms!"

"Yeah!" Lynette agreed.

"Well of course we are!" Perrine said afterward.

"I know," I added. "This is exactly how I should have learned how to fly when I first got here. At least, if I actually knew someone who could teach me how to."

I wonder if Mio had known how to all along and I never bothered to even ask...I mean, she _did_ send us to Anna for training. Maybe there was a reason why she did that.

"The wind feels different than when we fly with our Striker Units, huh?" Yoshika continued.

"Agreed," I replied cheerfully. I know, I have next to no right to say that considering that I could still keep a pair of pants over my legs when the girls couldn't, but when you don't have a device covering your legs you can feel the wind flowing past your clothes.

"It's incredible!"

"I know," Lynette added. "It feels so nice."

"Yes, although...it still rubs some," Perrine said a little nervously. I could kinda see where Perrine was coming from, but at least she hasn't crashed into the water today.

"How long are you four going to screw around?" Anna's voice asked as she flew up to our height using her own broom. "You're supposed to gather water, remember? Hurry, before night falls."

"Yes, ma'am. We're just about to leave." Perrine shot forward, the rest of us following suit.

"We'll be right back!" Lynette and Yoshika both said quickly.

"Wish us luck!" I added.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was closing in on the evening when we arrived with our buckets filled with water, and we were walking back from our errand and going to work on dinner and a bath.

"So you've been busy doing rallies?" Lynette asked me as we walked, each of us carrying our buckets full of water. Anna had the brooms with her, so luckily we just had to deal with carrying buckets. The Britannian Witch and Perrine had decided to walk alongside me, Yoshika hanging in the back with our instructor. Lynette was walking on my left side.

"Yeah," I told her. "Galland _did_ offer me the post. You were there if I recall correctly."

"I see."

"Why didn't you swing by and say hi?" Perrine asked me now as she walked on my right side.

I blinked as I replied with, "Um, with what directions? Besides, I was planning on doing that but had gotten swamped."

"At least you kept yourself busy and not worrying about us for once."

I looked at the Gallian Witch. "And what does that mean?"

Perrine gave off a huff (she probably wanted to shrug her shoulders but didn't want to get wet). "Nothing."

I raised an eyebrow. "Right..."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

As I heard Lynette and Perrine chat with Roland, I was chuckling. It's interesting to know that they seemed to have missed seeing him and wanted to try catching up.

"I see you three are close friends of his," Miss Anna said as she looked at the three of them.

"Yeah," I told her with a smile. "Though it took a while for Perrine. Roland-kun was one of the first people I met when I had first joined the Strike Witches, and he was there when I helped Lynne take out her first Neuroi."

"A bit strange, I would say." I looked at our current trainer with a confused look. "A man being friends with three Witches. Almost hard to believe he even has powers."

"We're not the only friends he has on the team, Miss Anna. I guess everyone on the team enjoys his presence."

Miss Anna nodded. "Why would you say that?"

"Well...he saved me from the Warlock back in the Battle of Britannia. Lynne was convinced to try her best thanks to him, and Perrine..." I stopped. I didn't want to tell her that Roland was from a different world. Not because I didn't trust her, but rather because I didn't want her to get mad and try to hurt him. "Well, let's say he's been there for all of us."

"I see...it's good that you keep him close, but what if he gets injured or killed in battle?"

"What do you mean?"

"How would you feel then?"

I thought about it briefly. "I guess that I'd feel depressed..." I smiled faintly. "But I know that Roland-kun will go down trying to keep us safe if that happens. Not that I want him to, but that's probably the only way I can see him dying."

"Uh-huh. You're a little optimistic, aren't you?"

I chuckled lightly. "I guess I am..."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Later on, in the evening, I watched as Perrine poured in the last bucket of water into the tub that had nearly fallen on us when we first arrived.

"Good," Anna began as she looked at us. "I suppose that's good for today."

"We did it!" Yoshika said happily.

"Finally," Lynette agreed cheerfully.

"Well, it wasn't that hard," Perrine said simply, though there was a touch of glee in her voice. "Not for me."

"At least I'm one step closer to being like a proper Witch," I said with a smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

At dinnertime, we all gathered around Anna's table to enjoy a meal.

"Thank you for the meal!" the four of us said as one before we started eating. It was rather good: potato soup with meat inside of it, bread, and some white cube-like things (I wasn't sure what its name was). There was also some salad next to the bread and cubes. We each had a plate with everything but soup as well as a bowl of the soup.

"Yummy!" the girls said simultaneously.

"Alright, girls," Anna said. "Finish up and take a bath. Roland, you too."

I froze slightly.

"Me?" I asked rather stupidly as I pointed a finger at myself. She better not have the same mentality as Mio concerning baths: I somehow still remembered that time when she dragged me in there a week after Shirley broke the sound barrier.

"Not at the same time, Roland," Anna told me. "You can go after the girls are done."

I sighed in relief. No fainting for this guy today.

XXXXXXXXXX

You know, on second thought...maybe taking a bath by myself wasn't such a good thing.

I sighed. The things you start reminiscing about when you started seeing old friends again.

Oh well. At least I can think about life so far here. I've been here about a year, and I've gotten used to it. Being a Witch and all, really, though I should probably say that I'm getting used to the idea of having a Neuroi core inside me. Sometimes, it doesn't really feel like I have it.

I frowned. I wonder if this is what it's like to have a familiar. I know that it's odd for me to be saying that, but it feels like I'm just not alone. Well, not truly.

Yeah, all the friends and family I had known were now gone from my life after arriving, but I made new friends. Like Ellios, Kayley, and the Strike Witches. And I think...I think I'm beginning to feel something I'd never thought about until now...

I sighed once again. I wonder what the others back on the base are up to? Sanya might be up there making sure we can all sleep soundly for the night. Erica and Francesca were doing...whatever they did at this time. Charlotte might be working on her Striker Unit or something. Mio...I think she'd be practicing her swordplay or something. Gertrud could be performing some work-out exercises. And Minna...

She might be handling paperwork if not helping out in the fighting.

Actually, better still, what surprise does Minna have in store for me? I mean, I know I've said it before, but...I don't like not having my vest.

I stood up and dried off as I got dressed in my gear minus the weapons (I left them with the girls' Striker Units), and I went off to go take a walk.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

"This place is nice," Lynette said as she and I sat on a part of the edge of the bridge. Perrine was simply leaning on the edge. We were wearing some button-up shirts that Miss Anna had lent us for the night.

"This is amazing," I said as we looked out at the water. "So Witches used to use brooms to fly around, right? I mean, before the Strikers were invented."

"Yeah," Lynette turned her head to face me. "It's so weird, huh? My mom told me she learned to fly on one."

"But still..." Perrine added. "We're floating around on sticks. Is that really going to make us stronger?"

"Someone is certainly skeptical," Miss Anna's voice said as we looked to our left and saw our trainer and Roland, who was fully-clothed (well, minus his vest).

"Oh," I said quickly. "Hi, Miss Anna and Roland-kun."

"What are you doing out here? You girls know you have an early morning tomorrow."

"We were just looking at the bridge." I stood up and walked along the edge a little.

"The bridge? Whatever could you do that for?"

"Because we...well, to be honest, we were wondering why you even needed a bridge. I mean, you could fly on a broomstick and everything, so..."

"Good question," Roland replied. "Why do you, ma'am?"

Miss Anna turned her head away a little as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she said simply, "I have it for my daughter. She doesn't know how to use magic."

"Your daughter?" Lynette asked as she and Perrine were curious.

"Yes...she married and moved away a long time ago, but she brings my grandchildren here to visit a few times a year. The bridge is for them."

"Where does your daughter live?" I asked as I looked at Roland. I think he was the only one who couldn't even imagine seeing his family anymore. I mean, he's from a world where we were nothing but characters for an anime. For someone like him, it's hard to think about a family you'd never see again. I know what he's feeling a little, though: I lost my dad, but I still have my mom and grandma to see.

Roland, though? He has no family to see...

"Venezia," Anna said.

I was surprised, as were the others.

"Venezia?" I asked out of shock.

"The Neuroi have taken over there," Perrine added.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Roland said sadly.

"There's no need to worry," Anna told us. "Everyone's okay. The entire family made it out safe and sound. Believe it or not, they're actually on their way here right now." She had a slight smile on her face.

"Well then, I hope they arrive very soon," Lynette said in response.

"So do I," I added with a smile.

"Yeah, me too!" Perrine added.

"You four get to bed," Anna told us after a while. "You have intensive training in the morning."

As she turned around and left us there, I could do nothing but chuckle softly.

"Come on, you four," Roland said as he looked at us. "She's right. We've got a busy schedule tomorrow."

As we got up and followed him to the cottage, I looked at him. He was thinking about something, and I think I know what it is.

He was most likely thinking about family...

"Roland-kun?" I asked him. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," Roland told me. "It's just..."

Lynette and Perrine ran in front of him, making him stop.

"It's okay, Roland," Lynette told him.

"Yeah," Perrine added. "You can say it."

Roland sighed before saying, "I miss my family." He then walked past them. "Come on, let's get some sleep. Maybe we can have a good day tomorrow."

"Hai!" I said as we followed him.

XXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I was busy sleeping on the floor, my body curled up in a tight ball as I was just lying there on my left side. It was rather...warm right now, so I wasn't under the blankets.

Not like I wanted to do that anyways: the one underneath was a little too itchy for my tastes.

I had simply fallen asleep in my gear, minus the weapons and my vest (which was back at the base).

Okay, maybe I should explain why I was laying on the floor instead of, say, a bed: according to Anna, she said something about not wanting me to try anything. Something I can understand. I mean, I'm already stuck with sleeping in Minna's room when I get back to the base (still haven't really figured out if that was a good thing or a bad thing). Might as well enjoy sleeping by myself for a while longer.

At least she had a spare pillow and some blankets I could use to cover the floor in order to make a sort of mattress.

I started feeling something shake my right shoulder gently, and I opened my eyes sleepily in time to see Yoshika, who was wearing a light blue shirt that had been given to her by Anna for temporary sleepwear. She had brought a pillow with her, which she was hugging to her chest with her left hand.

"What is it, Yoshika?" I asked sleepily.

"I can't get to sleep, Roland-kun," Yoshika told me quietly. "Do you mind if I sleep with you for the night?"

I sat up sleepily as I looked at her with drowsy eyes. "Yosh, you know there's a reason why Anna had me sleep out here."

"I'm sorry, but I really can't sleep."

I sighed groggily. "You sure you want to sleep with me? I mean, you could always use Lynne as a sort of body pillow..."

"I didn't want to wake Lynne or Perrine up. That's why I came over to see if you would mind."

I laid back down (this time on my back) as I patted the spot on my left side. "Well, if you're serious about it then just lay down next to me. Though, if you don't mind..." I yawned. "...just don't squeeze me too hard if you end up using me as a body pillow, okay?"

"Hai." Yoshika laid down on my left side and curled up next to me. "Night, Roland-kun."

"Night, Yosh." I closed my eyes and dozed off.

Well, there goes my hopes of having some peace for one last night...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Lynette's POV_

"Uwah?" I asked quietly as I sat up. I wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still dark outside. I was wearing a white shirt that Miss Ferrara had given me for sleepwear while we were here for training.

As I rubbed my eyes sleepily, Perrine had started to stir. She had a blue one given to her by our trainer.

"What's wrong, Lynne?" she asked me.

I looked around and noticed that Yoshika wasn't lying down with us. That, and there was a pillow missing.

"Huh," I said as I noticed that she was missing from the bed. "I wonder where Yoshika's gone..."

"Isn't she laying next to you?" Perrine added as she sat up as well.

"Not really." I gave it a quick thought. "You don't think she's with..."

Perrine looked surprised with sleepy eyes. "Oh boy..."

We got up quietly so as not to disturb our host as we snuck into the main area of the building, and sure enough Yoshika was sleeping against Roland, her right arm laying across his chest as she was curled up next to him. The Neuroi Witch was lying on his back as he was sleeping away.

You know, I think they look cute when they sleep next to each other...

"Is she nuts?" Perrine whispered to me. "If Miss Ferrara sees this-"

"It's alright, Perrine," I told her. "I think Yosh wanted some comfort, and Roland seems to be one of the few people who has a calming effect on others."

"Still, she's going to get herself and Roland in trouble."

I then thought of something. "Well, it sounds weird...but why don't we lay down with them as well?"

Perrine looked at me, shocked. "Are you out of your mind, Lynne? If we do that then we'll get in trouble as well."

"I know, but it wouldn't be right letting Yoshika and Roland be in trouble. Besides, we're a team, right?"

Perrine looked at me in confusion before she sighed in defeat. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

We walked over to the sleeping duo and found spots around them. I chose to sleep next to Yoshika while Perrine went over to Roland's free side. "Night, Perrine. Oh, and thanks for agreeing to this."

"It's nothing. Good night, Lynne."

I closed my eyes as I pressed up against Yoshika before falling asleep comfortably.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**There's the end of the first part of this arc.**

**Please read and respond, and I'll see you guys next time.**

**Thanks.**


	5. That Which We Can Do (Part 2)

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter of _Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return._**

**Now, before we get going on the story, let's deal with review-responding:**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review.**

_Dragonman75_**: The only thing I can say is to wait for your answers in this chapter. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_fuji92_**: It felt like a good idea for me to put Roland through Anna's training due to the fact that he had decided to learn how to be a Witch. Though he never thought that he'd be forced to go with the girls back to basics, but then again he _was_ pretty much doing rallies more than fighting off the Neuroi before he returned.**

_New Universe Returns_**: For the end of the last chapter, I was wanting to work with trying to establish deeper relationships between the girls and Roland (not just romantic, mind you), and for some reason this idea kind of crept into my head. When I was making the draft, I typed it out and then, after some thought, kept it. It's great that you enjoyed the ending for that part, and I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint.**

**Alright, with the responses out of the way, it's time to get back to Roland and the others. But first a little dance...nah, but we _are_ going to take a quick detour before we get there, so hang on...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 5: That Which We Can Do (Part 2)**

_Minna's POV_

I was sitting at my desk in the office I had.

I was rather glad to have my office separate from the room Roland and I were sharing. I didn't want to put him through late night paperwork sorting.

I sighed as I looked at the pile of papers I had to read through and possibly sign. It was rather thick, about thirty sheets tall, with a lot of words to read.

"Well, best get to work on this," I said as I slid the first paper on the pile and looked at it.

Suddenly, I heard a knock.

"Who is it?" I asked as I looked at the door, which I had closed to get some privacy.

"It's me," Roland's voice replied. "Can I come in, commander?"

"Sure, Roland." I looked down at the piece of paper as I heard the door open followed by footsteps and the door closing again a few seconds later. "What would you like, lieutenant?"

"I wanted to know something." I noticed that Roland had placed his hands on the desk, and when I looked up I could see him standing inside his entire gear. Green vest, white shirt, black cargo pants. Everything but his weapons was with him.

"What about?" I looked into his brown eyes, and I saw a smile form on his face.

"I wanted to ask you about your dreams."

I blinked. "My dreams?"

"Yeah. You know, I wanted to know what your plans were after the military. After our time here is done."

"Well..." I stood up, placed the paper in my hands back on top of the pile, and walked around the desk toward Roland's right. "I was thinking of trying to pursue a career in singing. It was a dream of mine before I got involved in the military more. What about you?"

"I don't really know right now, commander..."

"You can call me by my first name only, Roland."

"Right...Minna. I guess I want to..." Roland shook his head as he looked at me intently. I then felt him grab my shoulders gently as he turned to face me. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I blushed. "Roland?"

"I know I'm crazy for asking for something like that, but since we met I can't get you out of my mind. I love you, Minna. I love you so much."

I blinked. "Roland...I love you too..." I watched as Roland's head came closer to mine, and I closed my eyes as I waited for our lips to meet.

"_Commander Minna?_"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Huh?" I asked as I opened my eyes. When I looked ahead of me, I could see Barkhorn standing there.

"You okay, commander?" Barkhorn asked me as I sat up.

"Yeah." I shook my head. I was inside the office, a pile of paper in front of me. "What are you doing in here, Trude?"

"Well, I was just seeing where our commander was last night." She then looked at the pile of paper. "Tried to work on that pile?"

"Yeah. I figured that I could get a start on it before more came in. Amazing how work catches up to you so fast, huh?" I gave off a slight chuckle.

Barkhorn nodded her head. "Were you dreaming about Lieutenant Sage, ma'am?"

I blinked. "What makes you think that, Trude?"

"Well, it's hard to ignore you when you're muttering something in your sleep."

I blinked again. "I was muttering?"

"Not that I want to discourage you and your fantasies, ma'am, but have you considered maybe doing more important things?"

"Like?" I was confused: what did I have to do today? Other than all this paperwork, that is...

"You need to go pick up Sage's vest from where it's at and bring it back before the lieutenant and his party come back." She then tapped a piece of paper sitting on the upper right corner of my desk. "See, you even wrote down a reminder so that you wouldn't forget."

I grabbed the piece of paper and read it. "Let's see...'Pick up vest before Roland returns'." I got onto my feet and stretched my arms over my head as I felt my back follow suit. "Uh, thanks, Trude. So what time is it?" One thing they hadn't put in here yet was a clock for me. Maybe because they weren't sure where I wanted it?

"It's about ten in the morning."

I blinked for what must have been the third time today. "Ten in the morning?"

"Another reason why I went looking for you."

"Thanks, Trude." I'll have to sort through my feelings concerning Roland later. Right now, I need to deal with matters around the base. "Oh, Trude?" I stopped and turned to look at her. "Did you...happen to catch anything I muttered?"

"The only part I caught was Roland's name and 'I'. The rest was a little too low in volume for me to hear."

I sighed. "Thanks. Oh, and sorry for sleeping in, I guess."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Anna's POV_

What I found when I was going to check up on the man (what did one of them call him, "Roland-kun"?) wasn't what I was expecting at all.

He was still where I had him sleep for the night, and I could see that he was lying on his back as he was snoring very lightly, almost like he was relaxed right now.

What caught my attention was the fact that the girls that had come with him were laying with the man. One of them (the one who called him "Roland-kun") was lying to his right, resting on her left side as her right arm rested on his chest. Another one was laying behind the first girl, laying comfortably close to her friend. The blond one (at least, I think she was a blonde; the one next to the brunette had her hair color closer to mine) was the other side of the man, lying on her back. However, while she wasn't sleeping very close to him, she was still looking somewhat comfortable with where she was sleeping.

As I looked at the scene I was presented with, one thing crossed my mind: trying to figure out if I should do something about it.

If he had no idea that they had decided to lay down with him, then there was no real reason to punish him for something he didn't know about. However, if he tricked them into doing it then...let's say that he'd have a lot of pain or something coming.

Whether he had any knowledge of his situation right now or not, the four of them looked rather...perfect laying there.

Oh well, best let them rest. They do have training to do today...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I could feel my body starting to wake up as I opened my eyes sleepily before I had to shield them with my right hand due to the sudden bright light.

"Ugh..." I groaned as I blinked a few times and started to feel the stiffness of lying down from the night. "What time is it...?"

My body felt sore as I tried stretching my legs a little, but I wasn't clear on why they were feeling like that.

Unconsciously, I felt something resting on my chest, and I touched it with my right hand as I got used to the light.

_Hmm? _I thought as I poked the object lightly. _I wonder what this thing is..._

I gingerly felt the object on my chest with my right hand and could make out some fingers. My head turned to my left in time to see something I was not really prepared to see: lying there, curled up next to me, was none other than Fuso's Yoshika Miyafuji. She had curled up right next to me as she laid on her right side.

I only looked at her in surprise as she decided to wake up.

"Hmm?" she said sleepily as her eyes opened up and looked at me. "Oh, morning, Roland-kun."

Okay, I don't think I quite remember what led to this moment, so...

"Sergeant..." I asked slowly as I started to worry a little. "Why are you laying down with me?"

"Huh? You said I could, remember?"

I said she could? "I did?" When did I say that?

Hang on a second...

Oh...I think what happened in the middle of the night was starting to come back to haunt me...

A little alarmed, I lifted my head as my left hand propped me up a bit, and I noticed more of my situation: apparently Lynette had decided to join in by laying next to Yoshika, her back against the little Fuso Witch's.

"Lynne?" I asked as I looked at the Britannian Witch as she lifted her head and turned her head sleepily to look at us.

"Good morning, Lynne," Yoshika said as she looked at Lynette.

"Hmm?" Lynette asked sleepily. "Morning, Yosh. Morning, Roland. Did you two sleep well?"

I was stunned.

Uh, did I...?

I blinked rapidly. No way, I couldn't have!

...Could I?

Right then and there, only one response made its way into my mind and out my mouth.

"Ah!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I tried to move away, but instead of that I feeling myself starting to fall backward. To save myself, my right hand shot out behind me and landed on something...

Soft?

I gritted my teeth in fear as I turned my head in time to see Perrine (laying on her back) behind me, who was rather surprised...and blushing?

I think I said it before, but..._et tu, Perrine?_

"Ergh..." the Gallian Witch only growled for some reason as I think she was going from surprised to angry.

I blinked as I looked down at where my right hand had ended up in order to try saving me and noticed that it was resting on one of her breasts.

...Does it matter which one? With me, any hand on one is not a good thing for avoiding headaches.

Anyways, I was definitely screwed...

SLAM!

XXXXXXXXXX

"You know, I usually wake up to nothing happening. Or maybe something like breakfast in bed or things of that nature. I do _not_ wake up to be pummeled half to death by a girl, especially when said girl is one of my teammates and was sleeping next to me without my knowledge."

Such was what I told Perrine when the girls came back into the living room from getting dressed back in their uniforms. I was busy holding a makeshift ice pack to my head. Though the problem was that I had to settle for a bucket that had sat out overnight.

I know, I think I had asked for it when I signed up for this sort of work, didn't I?

"Well," Perrine replied as she huffed while standing close to me, her attention on me. "I don't wake up to guys trying to grope me."

What?

"That was a stinking accident!" I snapped. "How was I supposed to know that you and Lynne were with Yoshika on this little idea of laying down with me?"

"I'm so sorry," Lynette told me as she and Yoshika stood away a little from me and Perrine. "It's just that I thought since we were a team...well..." Now it was her turn to blush. "...besides, Yosh looked like she wanted someone to...comfort...her?" Her tone sounded a little embarrassed.

I sighed. "It's fine, Lynne. Though..." I then turned to look at Anna, who was watching us this whole time. "You could have at least done something about it!"

"And what, spoil someone's lesson for the day?" Anna said neutrally.

Ergh...do I just exist here for the sole reason of someone being needed to be a human punching bag? Or is that just something that unfortunately started happening lately? "You know, not everyone likes to be smacked over the head when they get up in the morning."

"Anyways, there's some breakfast on the table. Eat quick because we have some more training to do." I don't think she really cared about what had happened to me, and right now I didn't want to explore that possibility.

XXXXXXXXXX

After breakfast (consisting of eggs, toast, and some bacon), Anna had led us back outside, handed us the brooms and buckets once again, and tasked us with getting water yet again.

Essentially, what we were doing yesterday.

"While you four did an okay job yesterday," Anna told us, "your training isn't done yet. Now that we have time to spare, let's try to get this tub filled more than last time, alright?"

"Right!" Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine said quickly.

I didn't say anything: I was busy thinking about something, and it took me a while before I even said anything.

"Uh, ma'am?" I asked Anna.

"What is it?" Anna replied.

"I have a huge question: I think it might defeat the purpose of the exercise, but wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to take the tub with us?" What? It's a genuine concern: I don't want to just ruin Anna's training regiment in order to teach us how to...ride brooms? Yeah, I think that's just about it.

I swore everyone there looked at me. The girls in shock and Anna...with a slight smile? "Well, it seems like you're using your head. I don't suppose there's any harm in taking it with you, though you'd have to carry it with you somehow."

"Some string? Like, strong strands for tying the tub to the brooms and carrying it both empty and full?"

"I should have some. You'll have to find it, but you can use it."

I nodded my head. The thing should have handles, right? Some strong string, and we could hoist the entire thing over there and back.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe _we_ didn't think about carrying the water like this earlier," Yoshika commented as she, Lynette, Perrine, and I were carrying the tub (filled with water) using our brooms while I led the way. The tub had been secured to each broom in question with some rather strong string, mine and Yoshika's strands tied to one handle while Lynette's and Perrine's were tied to the other handle. "Thanks, Roland-kun!"

"Yeah," Lynette said in agreement. She and Yoshika were flying along the tub's left (the former) and right (the latter) sides (in order to try to avoid hearing the argument about a circle not having any sides, I'm considering the sides as if we drew an X along the bottom of the tub, with the handles pointing in either the upper-right or lower-left points of the X).

"Today that bath is going to be filled up the whole way."

"Yeah, water up to our shoulders. Right? Sounds good, huh?"

I smiled slightly. I take it they were talking about wanting to get more water than yesterday last night, huh?

"Yes," Perrine replied as she trailed behind the tub, "but either way it doesn't really matter to me."

"Sure it does," I joked as I looked over my left shoulder to glance at the Gallian Witch really quick. I don't really care if the water is all the way to my shoulders or not, as long as I don't faint and try drowning myself because of it.

I think Perrine looked to one of our sides and spotted something.

"Did you see that?" she asked in a hurried tone.

"See what?" I asked, still glancing over my left shoulder.

"To our right."

We turned our heads to look to our right, and we were soon greeted with something giving off a quick flash of light.

"Oh no," Lynette replied as we looked at the glint in the sunny sky.

"It's a Neuroi!" Yoshika shouted as she identified it.

"Oh shit..." I said as I growled. "Just when you think it's getting better..."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

"According to Observation Tee reports," I began as Major Sakamoto and I were busy examing a map of Romagna while trying to find out the interception point of the incoming Neuroi, "it's travelling in a direct line." I pointed to a spot along the coastline of the map. "Here, along the Adriatic coastline, from Venezia toward Obari."

I had gone to the people that I had taken Roland's vest to, and they had said that they had gotten done with what I wanted them to do for me, though they had found the request odd in itself. After paying for the work done using some of my allowance, I had barely come back to the base in time for Barkhorn to tell me that a Neuroi had been spotted along the coastline.

The major lined up the ruler with where I pointed my finger.

"So obviously it's the kind of Neuroi that can only move in a straight line," she said as she rotated the ruler to match the projected path. She then used a piece of chalk to draw a straight line before moving the ruler away and examining the path. "Interception will be...open sea."

"Interesting," I said as I examined the line, which went from my spot to an X-shaped mark Major Sakamoto had drawn to mark the sighting. I soon looked at the major. "I don't think it'll go ashore."

"I guess we don't need to scramble the squad then," The major looked at the line herself, and I think she saw something. "Wait!" She looked alarmed. "The girls!"

I caught on to what she was trying to get at. "Roland..."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"Alright, you three," I said quickly once our initial shock at seeing the Neuroi had passed. "We don't have much time. We have to let Miss Ferrara know about this and fast!" I sounded serious as I said that.

"Right!" the girls said as we picked up speed and came in for a landing in front of the cottage, placing the bucket down as quickly as we could without spilling its contents. Powering down our brooms, we set them on the ground and raced to the entrance, Yoshika reaching the door first.

_Why do I not get to make a badass entrance using a door?_ I thought to myself as Yoshika opened the door to the cottage quickly, though that was not really a very big concern right now. What was a bigger concern was telling Anna about what we saw.

"We've got bad news, Miss Anna," the little Fuso Witch said in a serious tone. "There's a Neuroi on the way."

"I know," Anna said as she just hung up the phone. "I just received confirmation from your base of operations."

"So does that mean there's a squadron coming to help?" Lynette asked. She looked worried.

"I'm sorry to say there's not. They said any Witches they sent would never make it in time."

"Wait, there's not a single Witch close by?" I asked in surprise. "That can't be right..." There's no back-up for us here?

"Our only choice is to abandon this house now."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Wait, you can't!" Yoshika said quickly.

Off in the distance, we could barely hear the Neuroi as it gave off a cry. My brain was trying to process what I had just heard, but it was too far away to actually translate the cry. Well, make heads or tails of the meaning at this rate.

"Let's go take a look outside, you three," I told Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine as I proceeded out the door.

XXXXXXXXXX

"It's like it's coming straight for us!" Yoshika noted as we were in the midst of some trees behind the cottage. The Neuroi up ahead fired a laser into the water, making a huge splash.

Yeah, yeah, Mister Neuroi, we get the picture. You want us dead, we get it. You don't have to shoot into the water to prove it. Your image is enough to get the job done.

You know, for being a new set they sure use the same tactics as the old ones. Look big and intimidating before a Witch gets in a lucky shot on your one weak point.

"At this rate," Lynette began, "the island and the bridge..."

"They'll both be completely destroyed," Perrine concluded.

I said nothing, Instead, I turned around and walked past Anna as I made my way to the front of the house.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked as I walked past. "It's time for us to go. We are leaving immediately."

"You can if you want," I said as I continued walking, "but I'm not going to sit idly by and watch that Neuroi destroy this place."

"No!" I heard Yoshika say quickly. "We can't just abandon this place."

"But what about your family?" Lynette asked. "Won't they be here soon?"

I stopped in my tracks. That's right, Anna said last night that they were on their way. If they're on the bridge right now...

"Listen," Perrine added, "if you abandon the island and the bridge, then your family won't have anywhere to call home anymore."

"That's right," I said quickly as I looked at Anna. "That's definitely not what you want, is it?"

Anna didn't say anything for a while. When she did, she simply said, "It's too dangerous."

"We've taken on danger before," I said in conclusion. "I should know: I've stuck my neck out to protect my friends and help them in their times of need. If this Neuroi wants to threaten your family and home..." I broke into a run. "Then I won't allow it to!"

I went into the storage area where the Striker Units were resting in the hay and fished around for my BAR and my pistol as the girls and Anna came to watch me go to work.

"Wait," Yoshika said as I slung the BAR across my back. "You're missing some things!"

"I don't have time for that!" I countered as I set the pistol in its holster and undid my belt enough to slip it on the left side of my hips before I forgot to do that simple step. "I need you girls to get ready and fast!" I ran out the doorway and past them.

"But wait! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to try stalling it. Failing that, I'll see how far I can get toward destroying it." I activated my Striker Unit quickly, feeling the prototype wrap around my legs as I felt myself get elevated. "Lieutenant Roland Sage..." I started up the Striker Unit and took off in a flash. "Engaging the enemy!"

I flew toward the Neuroi, which looked like the plane Yoshika and I used to get here alongside Mio.

Why am I comparing our mode of transportation to get here to a Neuroi?

"Wonder where the core is?" I asked myself as I readied my BAR. Checking my ammo, I only had one clip, which was already loaded into the gun. Hopefully it was enough.

The Neuroi fired at me, and I quickly darted aside as I put up my barrier, feeling the laser scrape by it.

I had to get close enough to make most of my shots count!

The Neuroi continued firing at me while I simply flew to the side in order to avoid being hit. When I closed in on it, I fired away at it, but I was greeted with the armor regenerating the lost portions.

_The hell...?_ I thought as I looked on in astonishment. _Its armor's regenerating._

"Looks like it was a stupid idea to go alone, huh?" I said to myself as I darted to the side and tried again. Failing to make an opening, I backed off slightly while avoiding more lasers. Soon, I could see the girls coming in to help out, but I was soon putting up a barrier to avoid being shot.

I hope they hurry up and get here soon, because I hate to see myself lose my only form of protection.

I flew to the side as the girls flew in and started firing at the armor. I also watched as the armor regenerated after their barrage.

"Why is its armor coming back?" Perrine asked.

"I have no idea how exactly," I said as I floated there. "We're going to have to fire at the same spot to punch through and find the core."

"Hai," Yoshika said as she flew toward the water. "Let's try underneath it."

"Could work." Lynette, Perrine, and I followed Yoshika's example, and we soon flew back toward it. We could see a charge of energy starting to build up. "Uh-oh. Move!"

The Neuroi fired its attack at us, and the girls managed to move quickly without taking a hit.

Me, however...

"Ah!" I shouted as I barely avoided taking the brunt of the laser by strafing to the right. The left side of my left elbow, however, had not been so lucky, and I received a sear across the top of my skin.

"Roland-kun!" Yoshika shouted as they rejoined me and the little Fuso Witch made to heal my wound.

"Not yet, Yosh!" I told her. "Focus on killing this bastard!" I slung the BAR across my left shoulder and readied the Browning HP in my right hand, but when I tried aiming down the barrel I found myself being unable to. Without the use of my left hand right now, I was going to probably end up eating the pistol hard. Plus, my shots were going to be as accurate as someone who's had one too many to drink. I don't know: I have no time to think of something better! "Shit, I can't aim or fire one-handed." I felt someone slip behind me and grab my right hand as I held the Browning HP. When I looked behind my right shoulder, I could see that Lynette was the one behind me. "Lynne?"

"Let me help you out now, Roland," Lynette told me as she placed her left hand on the other side of the grip, her left arm sliding over my left shoulder. "After all, you helped me last time..."

I blinked. She wanted to help me out with aiming?

I was feeling the same sensation from when Minna hugged me before night patrol last time as we floated there.

Lynette laid her right hand behind mine as I looked down the sight and aimed at the core.

I took a deep breath and checked my aim.

"Thanks, Lynne..." I told her softly before I changed my tone to one of command. "Yoshika and Perrine, fire away!"

Yoshika and Perrine fired their guns at the underbelly, and soon the armor received a well-deserved hole, and we could see the core inside it.

"It's out!" Perrine told us.

I looked down the sight as I aimed at the Neuroi's core. I had a few seconds to land a hit before the armor covered it back up, and I had to shoot it now.

"Go to hell," I said as I pulled the trigger.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

With Lynette's help in making my aim steady, the magic-covered rounds fired from my pistol (I think Lynette poured magic into them herself) slammed into the Neuroi, which made the enemy explode into white particles. The shockwave shoved us back a bit before we managed to recover our posture.

"We did it!" Yoshika said in relief as we floated there.

"The island and the bridge are safe," Perrine added.

"Thank goodness for that..." I breathed as Lynette let go of my hand. Holstering my weapon, I floated there as I looked at my left arm. There was a burn mark from where the laser had made contact with my skin, but I didn't see any wounds. That, and at least the watch was safe. I really hate to find out if I can still use my Striker Unit with a broken watch.

"Hold on," Yoshika said as she came to examine my injury. "Let me get that for you." She focused and used her magic to heal my wound, restoring my skin to its usual state.

"Thanks, Yosh." I flexed my left elbow. It was still a little tender, but I could at least bear with that.

I think Lynette was looking at the bridge, and she gasped.

"Look, down there!" she said quickly.

We looked down and could see a car had stopped on the bridge. The people who had been in it had gotten out and were waving to us in gratitude for what we did.

"Hey there!" Yoshika called out.

"You're all perfectly safe," Perrine added.

"We'd best be heading back," I said as I looked at the direction of Anna's cottage. "We have to go and let Miss Ferrara know that we stopped the Neuroi."

XXXXXXXXXX

As I watched the girls play with Anna's grandchildren, I was standing next to our instructor as we stood just outside of the doorway of her cottage. It was about an hour after we defeated the Neuroi, and I was simply enjoying myself watching the spectacle.

"Thank you," Anna told me.

"For?" I asked out of confusion as I looked at the elderly Witch, who was to my right.

"Thank you for protecting this place."

I smiled as I gave off a thumbs-up with my right hand. "It's what we do, Miss Ferrara. I'm just glad to know that no one was hurt."

Anna nodded. "Because of you four, my grandchildren can still come here using the same bridge."

Suddenly, we heard the phone ring in the cottage. I looked at Anna as I showed a look of confusion. "Who's calling at this time?"

"Let's go see." Anna beckoned me to follow her, and we entered the cottage as she walked up to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Who is it?" I mouthed.

"Oh, hello again, major...Everything's okay over here. This old cottage is still standing...oh?" She looked at me. "You want to talk to Sage?"

"Who is it?" I mouthed again.

"Here." She offered me the phone. "It's for you."

Who's calling for _me_?

I walked up to Anna and took the phone from her gently before placing it to my right ear and asking, "Hello?"

"Lieutenant Sage!" Mio's voice said from the other side. "Excellent work on dispatching the advancing Neuroi." She sounds pleased...

"Uh, thanks, but it wasn't just me. Yoshika, Lynne, and Perrine helped out. In fact, I think they did more to it than I could." Especially since Lynette helped me aim my pistol so that I could fire at the core. If she hadn't then we wouldn't have gotten the result we received. So I guess that she was the big MVP for this battle.

"Speaking of them, how are they?"

"They're...fine. Entertaining kids right now, but they're alright."

"Any injuries?"

"Other than one dead Neuroi? Well, I had a laser graze my left elbow, but Yoshika mended that up, so...not really?"

"I see. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, no." You think I should tell her about me receiving Lynette's magic? Maybe not: it just kinda...happened...

"Alright, let me speak with Miss Ferrara once again, lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am." I handed the phone back to Anna and walked back out.

Right in time to receive a soccer ball to the face.

BONK!

"Ow!" I yelled out as I clutched my nose. It wasn't broken, but it sure stung right now. The ball bounced on the ground a little before it came to a rest at my feet.

"Sorry, Roland-kun," Yoshika said in apology as she, the gradchildren, Lynette, and Perrine looked at me in slight horror.

To their surprise, I let go of my nose (now red from the impact) and laughed. "It's fine, you guys. In fact, I'd like to get in on your little game right now as well. Um, what game is it?"

"You might know it as 'soccer'," Lynette informed me. "You sure you want to play?"

"Positive!" I grabbed the soccer ball and laid it down on the ground as I kicked it to Yoshika.

As I joined the group in their game, I thought about family again.

You know, just because I can't see my family again didn't mean that I was alone in this world. I guess, in a way...that these girls and the rest of the Strike Witches are like my family.

Yeah, we're a collection of screwballs, but we watch out for each other. And after all, isn't that what a family's supposed to do?

"Uh!" Lynette shouted in surprise as she had tried to keep the soccer ball away from me.

"Whoa!" I added as I barely caught my balance.

Sadly, Yoshika and Perrine couldn't stop themselves, and they rammed into us, making the four of us fall to the ground. One girl was thrown across my lap, another ended up sitting on my stomach, and the third one...well, I couldn't really tell who was where because my eyesight had been covered by the third girl. Whatever was covering my eyes, I was blushing madly.

I think I could hear the kids chuckle as the girls joined them.

I'll say it again: why me?

XXXXXXXXXX

"I hate to say it, but it'll be a lot quieter without you four around."

Such were the words of Anna as we were inside our Striker Units, our weapons on us as we were prepped for departure.

Well, everyone was in their Striker Units except me.

Anyways, apparently Anna had given us a "passing grade", and she had told us that we could head back today.

"I'll miss it around here too," I said as I gave off a smile. "I was actually beginning to grow attached to that broom I was using." I then noticed that the elder Witch had her right hand clenched tight, with something hanging out of it. It looked like...a small chain? "Is something wrong?"

Anna tossed me the item in her right hand quickly, and I hastily grabbed it with my right hand before it decided to slam into my eye or something. "Here. A little going-away gift for you." I opened my hand and saw that it was a locket in the shape of a circle. "It belonged to me back when I was younger. It's not much, but I thought you would like it."

"Uh, thanks." Why was I getting a locket? "Are you going to be okay by yourself? I mean, we could always come back to check up on you..."

"While I'd like the notion of you four coming back to give me some assistance, I think you're needed in the air a lot more than you think. After all, it's not every day that a man like you comes into people's lives and make a huge impact with your presence."

I wanted to say something. Anything. However, I just nodded my head.

It wasn't that I disagreed with what she had said. Far from it. It's just that I was just doing what I thought was right.

Though that's maybe why I've made an impact on the team. Like Sanya had once said before I went looking for that nest over six months ago, I was like a sturdy rock for them.

Well, usually.

"Alright, ma'am," I said as I turned around, closing my right hand around the locket. "It was an honor to have had you as a teacher, Miss Ferrara."

"And it was an honor having you as my pupils," Anna replied.

I turned around and watched Anna...smiling at us? "Thanks, ma'am."

"Good-bye!" I heard Anna's grandchildren call out. "Come back soon!"

"We'll try to." I waved to them all with my left hand before I turned around and powered on my Striker Unit. "Yosh, Lynne, Perrine...let's fly!"

"Hai!" Yoshika called out.

"Alright, Roland," Lynette told me.

"Agreed," Perrine concluded.

We started our machines up and flew down the path before we flew up into the sky.

"Let's head back to base!" I called out as I led the girls towards the other members of the Strike Witches.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Welcome back, you four," Mio said as she and Minna stood in the hangar, watching the girls get out of their Striker Units. I was busy helping them get out one at a time. I was currently helping Yoshika.

"It's great to be back as well, major," I said as I hoisted Yoshika out of her Striker Unit and set her on the ground gently. "There you go, Yosh."

"Thanks, Roland-kun," the little Fuso Witch told me.

"No problem." I walked over to help Lynette next.

"How was the experience, Lieutenant Sage?" Mio asked.

"Overall?" I grabbed Lynette by her hips. "I'd say rather...interesting. Ready, Lynne?"

"Ready," Lynette told me.

"One, two, three!" I lifted her out as the device released her legs, and I soon set her on the ground as Yoshika came over to join us. "All good?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Roland."

"Don't mention it." I went over to Perrine and repeated it. I don't think she liked the fact that it was me and not Mio helping her out of the Striker Unit, but she was at least glad that I helped.

"Interesting?" Mio said, curious. "How so?"

The events that had occurred two nights ago (and yesterday morning) popped into my memories. "Uh...aside from some things I won't talk about right now, I learned how to ride a broomstick. Rather interesting if I say so myself." And that Perrine thought that a metallic tub was a Neuroi talking to her (now that I think about it, I doubt that she would have understood it had it actually talked. Not unless they learned how to talk in a language that does not emphasize what sounds like a high-pitched wail).

"And the chain in your hand?"

I blinked as I raised my right hand and opened it up. I was still holding on to the locket Anna had given to me. "Miss Ferrara gave it to me before we left. It's a locket."

"A locket?" Mio looked confused.

"Yeah." I examined the locket and found a small hooking place that kept the chain together while around a neck. Undoing it and setting it around my neck, I clicked the hook back in and lifted it from my chest, where the locket itself was resting. "Not sure why, but she said that it was a going-away gift."

"Intriguing that she gave it to you. You might deserve it if she gave it to you."

"Thanks, major."

"Alright, Roland," Minna decided to say, and I looked at her. She had something behind her back, which was where her hands were. "I've got a surprise for you."

"What is it?" I asked, curious myself as I walked over to the two of them.

"Close your eyes, please."

"Uh, sure." I closed my eyes.

Minna waited a few seconds before she added, "Okay, lieutenant. You can open them now."

When I opened my eyes again, I was looking at the item in front of Minna, and I was surprised.

"Hey," Yoshika started as she, Lynette, and Perrine joined us. "It's your vest, Roland-kun!"

"Thanks, Commander Minna!" I said happily as I grabbed my vest and slid it back onto my body. I think I felt something odd on the back, but I didn't pay it any of my attention. "I missed my vest so much. Though, if you don't mind me asking...what exactly did you do with it?"

I think the little Fuso Witch answered my question for Minna.

"Wow," Yoshika said in a breathless tone. "It looks great on you, Roland-kun..."

Strange. Why is Yoshika telling me that? I've worn this vest pretty much since I got it back. "Yosh?"

"I agree with Yosh," Lynette added, "It actually fits you."

I blinked as I turned to looked at the Britannian Witch. "You too, Lynne?" I blinked some more: she had a slight blush on her face. In fact, when I looked at Perrine and Yoshika, they had blushes on theirs as well, but Yoshika's was the only one who had a deeper blush. "What's with you three?"

"Why don't you look behind you, Roland?" Minna tried.

I looked at the commander and the major. "You two are behind me right now, and Yosh, Lynne, and Perrine are here. So what?"

"Maybe instead of just sliding your vest on, why don't you take the time to check it for anything new?" Mio said in a slightly irked tone. I don't think she was liking my clueless state right now.

Perplexed by the fact that I had three blushing girls in front of me, I took the vest off once again and looked at the front of it. It looked normal. Nothing new about it. I was about to put it back on when my left hand rested on the back of the vest's collar, and I felt it. It felt a little...stitched?

I flipped it over and soon saw the reason for the girls' blushes: Minna had evidently gotten an emblem sewn into the back of my vest. It was a green circle with a gold rim, the diameter being about five inches. In the middle of the circle was a white line making a forty-five degree angle across to form a positive slope. In the center was a design of a Neuroi core about four inches in diameter. In the upper-left side of the circle was a white R while the other side had a white S. A bit of the S and lower-right point of the R was overlapped by the Neuroi core.

"Minna..." I said as I looked at the commander.

"It was a little tough to do the emblem considering that they had no idea what a Neuroi core looked like," Minna explained. "In case you're wondering, the green you see in the circle is your vest so as to make it look like it was naturally made with that."

"The vest?" I felt the green inside the circle and found that it was indeed my vest. "Thanks for getting it done for me, but...why?"

"I wanted to give you something, and I felt that you needed an emblem that represented your nickname." I watched as Minna frowned slightly. "Do you not like it?"

"What? No. I like it, but still...you shouldn't have..." I looked at the vest again. Minna got this emblem for me? Was she trying to make it up to me for the way she treated me when I revealed my secret to her and the others without realizing it?

I shook my head. Whether she did it to make it up to me or not, Minna did this for me. The least I could do was wear it with pride.

With a smile on my face, I slung the vest back onto my body and felt the emblem as it rested against my back gently. I then walked over to Minna and cupped my right hand as I placed it under her chin and lifted it up.

"Thank you, Commander Minna," I told her.

Minna blinked once before she smiled again and said, "You're welcome, Roland."

"Alright, you four," Mio said as she claped her hands once to catch our attention. "We've got some time for some more training, so drop and give me a hundred push-ups."

Evidently, this surprised Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine more than me as their blushes disappeared once Mio gave us the orders.

"_What?!_" they asked as one.

I chuckled as I said, "Well, you heard the major. Let's get going on those push-ups."

_**Dear Letter,**_

_**I am writing this letter with an aching body. Apparently, after the hundred push-ups, hundred sit-ups, and (because Mio had felt like it) a hundred laps across the runway, a lap consisting of going to the edge of the runway and then coming back to the start...**_

_**Yeah, I think you get the point.**_

_**Anyways, I'm a little concerned about the ways the girls are beginning to view me. For now, I should focus on the three girls I was with during Anna's training.**_

_**Yoshika: maybe it's just me, but you think she's viewing me as some sort of big brother? I don't know. I feel that if I knew what exactly the deal was with the nickname she called me (Roland-kun) then I could figure out how she feels about me, but for now I guess I can only safely say that we're just close friends. It's strange, having a friend who's from an anime...**_

_**Lynette: not sure about this one, but I see us as being friends (hell, the two of us, along with Yoshika, are considered a trio). I wish I had the ability to read people's minds instead of their auras. It'd make my life easier. Oh well, can't always expect things to go your way.**_

_**Perrine: you think she's trying to thank me for helping to liberate Gallia? Hard to tell, but if so then that might counter-act the fact that she's smacked me in the back of the head two days in a row (once with her gun and once with her hand). Course, I think I at least deserve the second one, but even then I could have received it across the cheek. Hell, that's where Minna slapped me. Twice, once on each side.**_

_**Girl problems aside, I do have some things I wanted to talk about: Junko and Anna.**_

_**The captain and Mio seem to be on very good speaking terms. Interesting that Mio actually knows someone outside of the Strike Witches (then again, I never really asked her about her past), and Adolfine does not count (just for the record).**_

_**As for Anna, I'm still not sure about why Mio sent us to her, but she didn't seem so bad. Well, considering that she's just as much a civilian as we were before we joined the war. At least, I hope so.**_

_**Actually, now that I think about it...if Anna's a Witch, did she have to fight on the front lines when she was younger? Scratch that, how old is she?**_

_**Ugh! Too much to think about!**_

_**Let's take it one step at a time, I guess. I can think better when I'm not trying to cram my brain full of details.**_

_**Oh, yeah, before I sign off for now...I felt like trying to write a list of Witches I know and seeing how big it would get. Here's my results:**_

_**1. Kayley Nova (met in **_**Ascension_ incident; no idea where she is right now)_**

_**2. Hannah Ellios (died in **_**Ascension_ incident)_**

_**3. Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke (my current commander, member of Strike Witches; came to get me)**_

_**4. Yoshika Miyafuji (bumped into on my first day, member of Strike Witches; joined around the same time I did)**_

_**5. Mio Sakamoto (Minna's second-in-command, member of Strike Witches; rather easy-going when not training people)**_

_**6. Lynette "Lynne" Bishop (currently master-sergeant, member of Strike Witches; friends with me and Yoshika)**_

_**7. Perrine Clostermann (Gallian Witch, member of Strike Witches; noble lady of Gallia? I forget sometimes)**_

_**8. Charlotte "Shirley" Yeager (Liberion Witch, member of Strike Witches; aside from change in jacket color, speedster)**_

_**9. Francesca Lucchini (Romagnan Witch, member of Strike Witches; hangs with Charlotte, takes naps)**_

_**10. Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (Suomos Witch, member of Strike Witches; seen with Sanya a lot, trickster)**_

_**11. Sanya Litvyak (Orussian Witch, member of Strike Witches; seen with Eila a lot, Night Witch)**_

_**12. Erica Hartmann (Karlsland ace, member of Strike Witches; lazy yet is able to be serious when needed)**_

_**13. Gertrud "Trude" Barkhorn (disciplined Karlsland Witch, member of Strike Witches; friends with Minna and Erica)**_

_**14. Adolfine Galland (met last time; air commodore and head of the Witch Corps)**_

_**15. Draco L. Dracon (recently joined, newest member of Strike Witches; friends with Charlotte, must ask more about him)**_

_**16. Junko Takei (Witch that Mio knows; might ask for more info from Mio)**_

_**17. Anna Ferrara (trained with recently; see this letter for some info)**_

_**...**_

_**Ow...my right wrist is sore now...**_

_**I wish I could just type these stupid letters up on a typewriter and save me the pain of having to pencil in "member of Strike Witches" more than three times. I think we do, but...**_

_**No, it looks more natural if I write them out by hand.**_

_**Sorry, wrist. Your writing days aren't over yet.**_

_**Anyways, since I have some feeling back in my wrist right now I have this to say about the list: if I had a phone on me then I could have these names in the address book. Yeah, they're all female (and only one male), but at least I could do it.**_

_**Alright, I better end it here before I do anything stupider than writing out a list and writing down one phrase a hundred times.**_

_**Signed, **_**Roland Sage**

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland: Next time on _**_Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_**_..._

_Gertrud: Behold, Liberion...Karlsland's ultimate weapon!_

_Draco: I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself._

_Roland: I think that's how she usually is, Draco._

_Charlotte: Here, let me try it out._

_Roland: Not a very good idea._

_Draco: Next time..._**_Hard, Fast, Amazing!_**

_Roland: If this ends with me fainting, uh...tell someone who cares that I died..._

_Draco: Huh?_

_Roland: Never mind..._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, there's the next chapter in the story.**

**The only thing I have to say about this arc is this: this was a tricky one to make. Other than trying to make chronological sense of the whole episode, I had to make sure that they tied together well. It's not too much of a real problem considering that I've pulled it off a few times (somehow), but I think that the real issue might be the ending for this chapter.**

**But...that's just me. Overall, I think it looks nice, but it's up to you, the readers, to gauge how well I pulled off this chapter.**

**So please read and respond with your thoughts on the chapter, and I'll catch you guys next time.**

**Thanks.**


	6. Hard, Fast, Amazing! (Part 1)

**Hello, and welcome to the start of a new arc in the story!**

**Alright, as usual...it's time for replying to reviews:**

_chimeraguard_**: Yep. It's the Jet Striker. Considering that Roland has no real idea about this new Striker Unit it'll be interesting to see what he thinks about it. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_Dragonman75_**: Hard to say what Minna will do concerning her dream, but there are possible outcomes based on what she ultimately decides to do. As for Draco, this arc will shed some light on his connection to Charlotte as well as some history about our orange-haired Liberion Witch for Roland to digest. I hope you continue to read and enjoy this story.**

_fuji92_**: Roland's adventures are going to get more interesting as he fights: meeting yet _more_ Witches (not a bad thing, actually), getting involved in more shenanigans, and all without having a _single_ clue what's going to happen. The phrase "Don't panic" will have to be used by Roland if he wants to live long enough to see himself get old (or at least see the end of this adventure he's wound up in).**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review. As for your question, I'm afraid that I can't say too much about it, though the answer will be revealed at the appropriate time.**

_New Universe Returns_**: Thanks for the review.**

**Okay, with the replies done for now, it's time to return to the base for the start of the next arc...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 6: Hard, Fast, Amazing! (Part 1)**

_Last time, our intrepid group of Witches (Yoshika, Lynette, Perrine, and Roland) were sent to an old acquaintance of Mio's to learn the basics of being a Witch. At first struggling with their training, the girls and boy rose to the challenge and managed to defeat a Neuroi threatening their trainer. After that day, it's still a mystery to Roland what he's in store for. What will he have to face off again now?_

XXXXXXXXXX

I stumbled into the dining room as I stretched my arms over my head early in the morning.

It's been a few weeks since I came back from Anna's along with Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine, and my life on the base was rather..."normal".

You know: breakfast, training, lunch, more training, dinner, some more training, sleep...lather, rinse, repeat.

Well, we also had the occasional Neuroi to shoot down, but other than that that's pretty much my schedule.

Also, I've been waking up rather early for the last week. Blame it on the stupid nightmares.

I don't know why, but I have this rather bad dream and when I wake up I can barely remember it. in order to put my mind in a temporary state of rest, I've taken to getting up and preparing for the day when I had one.

Course, I had to do it quietly so as not to wake up Minna (since she and I shared the same room), and all without turning on a light in case she woke up and was greeted with a bright light.

"Morning, Roland."

"Huh?" I asked as I looked at the table, which had Sanya sitting at it by herself. "What are you doing up?" She usually heads to bed when she finishes with the nightly patrol!

"I should ask you the same question," Sanya replied as she looked at me. "It's about six in the morning. Are you okay?"

"I guess." I put my right hand on the back of my head. "I had a nightmare and didn't feel like falling back asleep."

"I see." Sanya nodded. "Does it have something to do with you?"

As in, "Does it have to do with the core inside me"? "Actually, I don't know." I looked at the kitchen. "Hey, have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet. Why?"

"I think I'll make some breakfast for us. Something light for energy. How does..." I thought of something to make on the fly. "...eggs sound?"

"Sure. I'll help you." Sanya got up and, pushing her chair in, followed me to the kitchen.

Once we entered the kitchen, I went to the fridge and rummaged around inside it before I found a carton of eggs. Grabbing five eggs, I closed the door and faced the Orussian Witch. "Hey, want yours scrambled or sunny-side up?"

"Whatever's more convenient for you, Roland."

"Well...scrambled it is, then." I watched as Sanya looked through the cupboards before finding a medium-sized frying pan. Putting it on the stove, she then produced a medium-sized bowl. I put the eggs down and, grabbing one, cracked it along the edge of the bowl. When I got a safe enough crack, I looked at Sanya, who had grabbed two eggs herself, as she banged one egg against the other, making a crack in one. "Right. I forgot that I could do that." We poured the insides of our cracked eggs and, while Sanya resumed the act of cracking open breakfast, I looked inside the cupboards for some black pepper. It took me a while to find it, but I was soon pouring some into the bowl and, producing a fork I had picked up while looking for the pepper, stirred the eggs violently.

For the interest of keeping you from falling asleep here, I'll cut it short and just say that a few minutes later we were seated at the table, Sanya sitting across from me as we each had a plate with eggs and two pieces of toast in front of us.

Oh, and some milk.

...Yeah, that's it: just milk and breakfast.

"So how was the night patrol?" I asked her.

"Actually," Sanya admitted, "I didn't go out for patrol. Commander Minna asked me not to for the night."

Ah. Makes sense; I think Minna knows when she needed to have Sanya ready for something day-related. "I see."

"What about you? I was asleep for most of the day yesterday, so..."

"Oh. You know...the usual."

"Training?"

I nodded my head. "Pretty much. Other than the nightmare that woke me up and made me get up, that's about it."

"Can you remember anything about it?"

I blinked. "Actually...I can't really recall it. It felt like..."

"Like?" Sanya looked curious.

"...Like I was going to get seriously injured. I can't remember what caused it, but I felt...I think it was a major migraine." I shook my head to focus on the "real" world. "I'm not too worried about it. Just a nightmare, right?" Or was it?

Sanya nodded in response. "Just don't get hurt, okay?"

"Don't worry." I smiled slightly. "I promise I won't hurt myself. Now, let's eat."

We ate in silence for about seven minutes, finishing off our meals. As I reached and grabbed Sanya's plate, she told me, "_Spasibo, Roland._"

I blinked in confusion as I heard those words. Okay, I could understand my name, but what the hell was "_spasibo_"? Considering that the Orussian Witch has no knowledge of Spanish here (unless I'm mistaken and that word is in the Spanish vocabulary), the closest word I could utter to try getting my idea across was a rather simple "_¿Qué?_"

"I'm sorry." Snaya bowed her head forward a bit. She did that rather quickly, like she was trying to apologize for something. "I didn't know if you understood Orussian or not..."

"Uh, San?" I'm assuming that when she said "Orussian" she meant "Russian". "My native language is English. Sorry, Britannish. I took Spanish, but it's rather...well, let's say that I'm not a certified translator. I can speak it, but I only have a bit of a grasp on it."

"Well...if you want, I can teach you how to speak Orussian."

"If you feel like it, Sanya. As long as you girls speak English, I'll manage."

Sanya shook her head. "Well, you never know if you meet an Orussian and don't understand what he or she says."

I blinked. I had only really thought of being bilingual, but being trilingual? "I guess...in that case...yeah..."

Sanya smiled a little. "Thanks."

"No, thank you." I smiled in return.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

Well, it was another nice day outside.

A perfect day to do some test runs with my Striker Unit. I've been modifying it whenever I got the chance, and I'm still thankful that Roland saved it from entering the water back at Britannia.

I was running the Striker Unit really quick, and the results looked promising.

"My Merlin engine's working perfectly yet again today," I said happily as I listened to my Striker Unit's roar. "Who's a good little Striker Unit?"

"You know," Draco said as he was watching me from the side, a cup of water in his hands. "Some people might think you're crazy for talking to your Striker Unit. But then again, what am I saying?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't really be one to talk. Some of the things you say don't even make any sense." I looked at him. He was dressed in his uniform, a pair of brown shorts covering his legs. "Come to think of it, Roland doesn't make sense sometimes either."

But for the Neuroi Witch that's a given considering his background.

Anyways, I was soon interrupted by Barkhorn's voice saying, "Captain Charlotte Yeager!"

I looked ahead of me and saw the Karlsland Witch in question, Barkhorn.

"Just what are you doing dressed like that?" she asked me. The reason why she asked that because I was in nothing but pink undergarments.

"Isn't it obvious?" I began. "I'm testing an engine."

I don't think that was what Barkhorn was trying to get at. "You know that's not what I meant as in 'direct combat readiness'. What would you do if a Neuroi showed up right now?"

"Okay, I get it. The hangar just gets so hot whenever we run our engines. Look, it's not just me." I looked up at Lucchini, who was happily sleeping in minimum clothing on a beam above.

Barkhorn looked at the Romagnan Witch up above. "You two are ridiculous! Don't you ever act professional?" She then looked at Draco. "And I supposed you're liking it, Dracon?"

"Hmm?" Draco asked as we looked at him. "Uh, I don't know." He scratched the top of his head. "Considering you girls don't exactly wear pants in the first place, it's a bit hard to say. Besides, I've known Shirley since we were kids. I don't think what she's doing right now is that bad."

"Aw," I said as I remembered our conversation's current topic: professionalism. "So what, I'm supposed to believe Karlslanders follow all the rules?"

"Karlslanders follow rules?" Draco sounded a little confused. Given that he's only been with the wing for a while, it's no wonder he's anything but confused.

I then noticed Hartmann walking behind Barkhorn, looking about the same as us. "That's not true, is it, Hartmann?"

"It's so hot..." the blond Karlsland Witch moaned.

Barkhorn looked behind her and was startled, replying with, "Hartmann, you can't be serious. How can you call yourself a Karlsland soldier?"

"Uh, I use my words?"

I chuckled after hearing that as Barkhorn started getting a little irritated.

"You know if Sage sees this-" Barkhorn started.

"Morning, Shirley," we heard Roland's voice say as he walked into the hangar, blissfully unaware of the situation. We then looked at him as he had his eyes closed. "Sorry to tear you away from your conversation for the moment, but I wanted to..." He opened his eyes to looked at me, and his eyes widened considerably. "...ask...you...about..." He stopped.

"About what?" I asked him.

Roland blinked as he looked between me and Hartmann before he did something: he fell onto his back in shock.

"See what I was trying to say?" Barkhorn added as she looked at the fallen lieutenant. "Sage isn't too keen on being surprised like that."

"I think you girls broke him," Draco quipped as I sighed.

You know, you'd really think the guy would be used to seeing stuff like this after a while...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

Major Sakamoto and I were busy looking at the Striker Unit that was sent to us from Karlsland.

"So..." the major began as I looked at a clipboard I was holding in my right hand. "This is the newest model from Karlsland?"

"Technically it's just a prototype," I said as I read from the clipboard. I then looked up and at the prototype. "It's called the Em-Ee Two-Sixty-Two Be-One Jet Striker."

"Jet Striker?" I heard Hartmann's voice say from behind us.

Major Sakamoto looked at me as I looked at the newcomer. "Oh, when did you get here?"

"And why are you dressed like that?" the major inquired. Apparently, Hartmann was in minimum clothes.

"Seriously, Hartmann," Barkhorn shouted as we turned to look at the incoming captain as she came to a stop behind me. "Would you put some clothes on? It's bad enough Sage fainted because of you two." She then noticed the clipboard in my hands and looked at the Jet Striker itself. "Huh. What's that?"

"They call it a 'Jet Striker'," Hartmann told Barkhorn.

"Jet? You mean, like the kind that was being researched?"

I looked at the clipboard again as I said, "It arrived here from Nueva Karlsland earlier this morning. Its engine output is several times greater than a reciprocate engine. Top speed is around nine hundred Kay-Pee-Ech. Impressive."

"Nine hundred Kay-Pee-Ech?" Shirley asked as she started examining the Jet Striker, resting on her knees. "Hello, lover."

"So this is...what, exactly?" Draco asked as he and Roland stepped up next to the major.

"It's a Jet Striker, Dracon," Major Sakamoto informed him.

"Like a jet?" Roland said to us. "Nice. Maybe it can go as fast as jets back where I'm from."

I looked at the Neuroi Witch.

"You have jets back in your world?" I asked him.

"Of course, ma'am," Roland replied with a salute. "I'm from around the beginning of the third millennium. Well, from my perspective."

Of course. To cover Roland's secret of being from beyond our dimension, we had to consider his age in comparison to the rest of us. That would place him around the year Barkhorn and I were born.

Oh, and before I forget: Sakamoto and I made it a point to have Roland tell Draco about his secret a while after he returned from "basics" with Miyafuji, Perrine, and Lynne. The reason why we chose to go through with that option was because we didn't need Draco trying to do something to jeopardize the team.

Oddly enough...the new recruit took it rather calmly. Looking at our looks of confusion, Draco had explained that whether or not Roland was from another world, the Neuroi Witch was the main reason why he joined the military. In fact, according to him he had been flying for about six months after the Warlock incident when all this occurred.

Not too sure what he was doing during that time. Probably training...

"Anyways," I continued as I looked at the Jet Striker and the curious orange-haired Liberion Witch. "It's next-gen technology that will replace our reciprocating Strikers. Aside from Roland's, that is."

"Shirley," Major Sakamoto asked, "why are you dressed like that too?" We then looked at the two males in the hangar. "And why are you two not fainting or something?"

"Used to it," Draco said simply. "Already explained it to Captain Barkhorn, ma'am."

"I just woke up from fainting," Roland added. "My cool-down counter for doing it again hasn't quite finished counting down yet."

I blinked in confusion. Cool-down counter? What's he talking about?

Barkhorn noticed something mounted on a stand, and she walked up to take a closer look. It was a rather large gun.

"What is this?" she asked.

I turned the page on the clipboard to look at the details for the gun.

"That is an armament designed specifically for Jet Strikers," I said once I read the report. "It's a fifty-millimeter cannon, and it comes with four thirty-millimeter machine guns."

Barkhorn was excited about the details based on her reply: "Awesome!"

"Wow, they really thought about the firepower," Roland said as he blinked at the information. He then cleared his throat and started to sound like some sort of guy with a slight case of sore throat. "Guaranteed to make anyone using our equipment look like Rambo. Call now and get your free copy of an acting-like-a-machine-gun-carrying-god booklet, not available anywhere else."

We all looked at Roland with blank expressions.

"What?" he asked as his voice reverted back to normal. "We all know I have way more references than you girls do Striker Units."

I shook my head as I said, "That was something I didn't really see coming." That, and the cool-down counter...

"Is it possible to fly carrying all that weight?" Major Sakamoto asked me.

"I'd say so," Roland replied. "I mean, Gert-I mean, Captain Barkhorn generally carries two guns into battle. What's to stop someone like her from carrying that cannon and the four-pack while flying a prototype Striker Unit?"

"Machine guns, lieutenant."

Roland shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever they are, there's four of them."

"Hey, you guys!" Shirley said as she was still next to the Jet Striker, this time standing on her feet. "I wanna try it on. Please, can I try it on?"

"No way!" Barkhorn said quickly. "I'll wear it!"

"Why not? It's not like it belongs to you."

"Okay, you two," Roland said as he stepped between the feuding Witches. "Can we hold it on the whole arguing thing? Besides, isn't it Commander Minna's choice?"

"I was going to recommend Roland here to try it out himself," I said with a slight smile.

I think everyone I could see in the room turned to look at me. I wasn't too sure about Major Sakamoto, Draco, or Hartmann, but I definitely knew Shirley, Barkhorn, and Roland.

"This unit was built in Karlsland," Barkhorn began. "Why let Sage fly it?"

"I wanna know that too!" Shirley said as the two sides of the argument glared at the Neuroi Witch.

Roland moved his head quickly as he glanced from one girl to the other as he asked, "What the hell is with you two right now?"

"It makes sense," the major said with some thought. "Sage handles a prototype Striker Unit almost every day. It would appear that he would be more qualified for the job."

"Agreed," Draco added. "Lieutenant Sage's Striker Unit is rather...unique in itself."

Roland looked at Major Sakamoto in shock.

"Who said I approved of this?!" he snapped. "Yeah, I fly a prototype, but that's besides the freakin' point! No offense, but though I'd love to shoot down a Neuroi with close to a quadrillion dollars' worth of bullets a _second_, it's not really my style." The Neuroi Witch crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm trying to focus more on the whole 'survive the experience' side of this right now!"

"I'll fly it, end of story!" Barkhorn said.

"Don't you 'end of story' me!" Shirley added, sounding irked. "I don't care where it's from, I'm the one that knows that little thing that's called the sound barrier."

"Of course, because speed is the only thing you think about!"

"Jeez..." Roland said as he sat down between the girls and, placing his hands on the ground beside him, sighed. "You know nobody's really getting anything done just arguing here."

"And here we go again," I said with a bit of a worried look as the two of them continued arguing.

"Those girls will never learn," Major Sakamoto said as she too watched the spectacle.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

You know, I'm starting to see the beginning of a stressful relationship between Charlotte and Gertrud right now if I hadn't sensed it by now...

And I don't quite think it has to do with the fact that my fellow "Liberion" (I had to use that given the world I was in) teammate was still in her undergarments.

I think I've gotten used to it for the time being. I mean, I've seen worse from Charlotte-

And now is not the time to be remembering what happened over the ocean back in Britannia or the bath right now!

Today's lesson: love thy place of origin. It could be worse elsewhere.

Hell, I wasn't even aware of anything flying through the air until I heard a voice and the Jet Striker starting up. I looked at Gertrud first to see if she had managed to get into it, but I could see that she hadn't. I then looked at Charlotte and located the person who had engaged the prototype: one Francesca Lucchini.

"What the?" Gertrud said in shock as we all looked at the Romagnan Witch.

"So not fair, Francesca!" Charlotte added.

So not fair? _So not fair?!_

"What are you doing in there?" I asked as I stood up quickly. "That thing isn't even fully tested yet!"

"Sorry!" Francesca simply shouted.

Sorry does not cut it right now...

"Okay, I'm not really that sorry!" the Romagnan Witch added as I started seeing smaller versions of those circles we have when taking off in our Striker Units fan out from the side-jets to imitate propulsion. "See ya!"

"Wait a second!" I added. Knowing my luck, this wasn't going to end well.

Then again, I must be over-reacting. I mean, besides the whole "Neuroi coming towards Anna's home" thing, I really have no idea what's in store for us.

Though I have this feeling that the Jet Striker's here for more than simply testing with.

I could barely hear Charlotte scream cheerfully before I noticed Francesca make a face I somehow felt like she was going to have something traumatic happen to her.

BZZT!

ZAP!

One accompanied scream from the tester...

And she's off running away.

While I know it's mean to say it, you think I called it or something?

"Oh, Francesca!" Charlotte said in concern as she and I ran to check up on her. She was hiding behind another one of the stands, her hands against the sides of her head. I think it was the stand holding Charlotte's Striker Unit.

Whatever it was that occurred, it must have been really traumatic for her. Closing my eyes, I could make out some sort of weird aura change: her yellow aura was being covered by some splotches of black and red.

Definitely looks like she went through a traumatic event.

"Are you hurt or something?" the buxom Witch asked her companion.

"Yeah," Francesca squeaked with a slight quake in her voice. "It made a fuzzy noise like 'buzz'."

"Like 'buzz'?" Charlotte looked at me. "Roland, can you go and take a look really quick?"

"Uh, sure," I said quickly. "Don't worry, Francesca. I'll be back."

I wandered over to the Jet Striker and, crouching down, began looking at it while curling my right index finger around my chin. I tapped it with the knuckles of my right hand and could hear nothing but the clanking of someone knocking on metal.

Okay, not sure if this is what a Striker Unit is supposed to sound like...

"Looks normal..." I told myself as I stared at it for a good ten seconds before Charlotte decided to say something.

"Yeah, uh..." Charlotte said after a while. "You go ahead."

We all looked at her.

"How come?" I asked, confused. Weren't you the one who wanted to try flying it, Charlotte?

"After thinking about it, I realize that there's a lot of potential in reciprocators. I can always try those jet-sy ones later."

Okay... "Who are you, and what have you done with the real Charlotte?" I'm serious! First Francesca gets the (literal) shock of her life (or, at the very least, day), and now Charlotte's deciding to forgo testing the Jet Striker? Next thing I suppose, one of the girls is wandering around the base with no clothes on...

And I am _really_ hating myself for thinking about that sort of thing. Must be because of what I'm seeing from Charlotte...

"Afraid you can't handle it?" Gertrud said simply. "Well, I'm not. Let's go!" I watched as she jumped over me and entered the Jet Striker, and I soon stood up and ran back as she activated it. "What do you say? Because I don't think any of our reciprocated Strikers can beat this."

"Oh, whatever!" Charlotte said, annoyed.

I looked at Minna, Mio, and Erica, who simply sighed. Draco looked a little calm about this as he strolled over to join Charlotte and Francesca.

I guess I'm not the only one tired of this. Though it's not helping too much that I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing...

"Here you are!" I heard Yoshika's voice say from somewhere. When I looked behind the Jet Striker, I could see the little Fuso Witch and Lynette standing there, the Britannian Witch wearing an apron as she stood next to her waving companion. "Come over and get it, everybody!"

"She's trying to say breakfast is ready," Lynette clarified.

My eyes lit up quickly.

Ah, breakfast! I can't wait to eat another one of their meals.

...Okay, I admit: I actually missed the girls' cooking while I was gone from them.

I don't think any of the others heard Yoshika.

"Hello?" the little Fuso Witch asked. Poor Yoshika...

"Why don't you quit screwing around for once?" Charlotte said in response to Gertrud's challenge (definitely have to say the two bickering currently weren't listening). "I swear, you're like a three-year-old with a stupid new toy!"

Hey, calm down, Charlotte! Breakfast is ready! Let's focus on that. Everyone should feel better after eating some good cooking...

"Someone's jealous," Gertrud retorted. "You're such a disgrace."

When I noticed Francesca, Draco, and Charlotte looking peeved, I decided to step into this once more.

"Okay, that's enough!" I shouted, getting everyone's attention. "No one here is a disgrace!" I then thought about myself for a split second. I didn't have much room to talk considering that I lied to the girls back in Britannia. "Except probably me..." I stomped my feet as I shook my head. "...but still!"

"Yeah," Charlotte added. "Just like your face!" It sounded like this was aimed at Gertrud.

I face palmed myself. This was not going to end pretty...

"I can change my mind, right?" the Liberion Witch added.

"You know how selfish you sound?" Gertrud added.

"Do you know you sound like you got a stick up your you-know-what?"

I raised an eyebrow as I turned to look at Charlotte, completely baffled.

...

...

...What?

...

...

Oh...kay...

I shook my head slowly.

I'm going to pretend for a moment here that I was hoping she meant "rear" or some variation of the word. Hell, I'd probably settle for "butt" or "ass". Those would be words I'd use.

"They're at it again," Yoshika sighed.

I nodded my head in agreement.

Amen.

XXXXXXXXXX

And it looks like it's time for the "Great Debate of Idiocy".

Which was better: a Jet Striker with no prior test experience being put into the hands of a certain Karlsland Witch, or an "old-fashioned" (hey, I'm considering this from the Jet Striker's side here) Striker Unit flown by a speed freak?

Survey says...

...Actually, I'm not sure. Bit hard to do a survey when you don't really know where to start.

So why am I raising this question then? Simply put, Gertrud and Charlotte were launching into the air to do some trials. Thankfully, I wasn't going due to the fact that I not only flatly refused to participate but also because it would have been a better idea to focus on one variable at a time (not to imply I've turned chicken; I have the Neuroi core as a factor here).

"So what's all this excitement about, you guys?" Perrine asked as she, Yoshika, Lynette, Francesca, Draco, and I were watching those two go at it really fast.

"It seems Barkhorn and Shirley are mad at each other again for some reason," Lynette said simply.

That is surprisingly a good summary of what happened earlier for someone who wasn't around for the first half of it. That's also considering that she hasn't asked me about the reason for the argument.

"They're competing to see who can climb higher!" Francesca said cheerfully. "Go, Shirley!"

"That Jet Striker sure looks interesting," Draco said as he watched the girls climbed higher. "It's keeping up with Shirley's Striker Unit rather well if not trying to surpass it."

Francesca looked at Draco in shock. "Whose side are you on, Drakey?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm just noting some things here. Give me a break."

Drakey? Does Francesca know him as well? Maybe not, but the one link they both seemed to share was the fact that they knew Charlotte, though...

Okay, I'm really lost here...

"Hey, Draco?" I asked as I looked at the girls in the air.

"What is it, lieutenant?" Draco asked me.

"I wanted to ask you...how do you and Shirley know each other?"

Draco blinked, like he hadn't been prepared to answer that question. "Oh. Well..." Please don't say something like "Let me talk with my attorney"...

"It appears that Shirley has stopped at approximately twelve thousand meters," Sanya's voice said through our radios. "Captain Barkhorn is still climbing, though."

Apparently, she and Eila were watching the event from the sky thanks to their Striker Units.

Twelve thousand feet? That sounds a bit hard to believe when I think about it.

"Uh, thanks, Sanya," I said as I looked at Draco. "So...?"

"We were childhood friends before she..." Draco started before he stopped.

I was a little concerned. "Sergeant?"

"Before she...it's nothing you need to worry about, sir. All you need to know is that she and I are childhood friends."

Childhood friends? I'd say that was odd, but Lynette and Kayley are friends and the latter probably didn't even exist in this universe. Better not pry until Draco was ready to explain in more detail.

XXXXXXXXXX

And this whole competition thing was getting a little more out of hand as I observed it in action.

And I think it starts with Charlotte grabbing a dumpling before Gertrud.

"Ha, ha," the orange-haired Witch gloated. "I win."

"I wanted that one," Gertrud complained.

"Uh, captain?" I asked as I sat at another table, writing a letter. "You know there's more dumplings on that plate for you to get to, right?"

"So? I wanted that one."

"It's almost no use," Erica told me. Position-wise, she was sitting right behind me as her back was facing mine. "Trude's not going to let this go too easily."

"Don't see why they can't just grow up a little right now," I replied as I looked back at my letter, which had this so far:

_**Dear Letter,**_

_**Hey, it's me again.**_

_**For starters, I'm not exactly having a good day right now.**_

_**Why, might you ask? Well, I'll explain to my best ability: see, we got this strange prototype Striker Unit (not like mine, of course) called the Jet Striker. According to the clipboard Minna was reading off of, its top speed was around nine hundred KPH. Because of this, it's supposed to be the replacement for our "reciprocating" Striker Units. Well, everyone but mine unless that strange group Maloney told me about made it.**_

_**Actually, that doesn't sound too far-fetched right now. Maybe, since I was around testing this one, they decided to throw another one my way.**_

_**Can you say "trying to be manipulative"?**_

_**Anyways, right now, I'm busy watching Charlotte and Gertrud eat dumplings while waiting for my own plate.**_

_**Those two are probably the root of my problems today. See, since they saw the Jet Striker, they've been a little too competitive lately.**_

"You sure find time to write letters, huh?" Erica asked me as I looked at her as she was peering over my left shoulder.

"It's become a habit," I said as I set my pencil down. "I used to write them to keep track of my experiences here, but I guess I keep writing them so that anyone who reads it can see things from my perspective. That, and keep recording my experiences so far."

"I see. Mind if I take a look at one?"

"Uh, sure. I'd have to go check my bag, though. I did pack them, but I don't know where I put them right now."

"Oh. Well, I hope I can read them soon."

I smiled slightly. "Sure thing, Hartmann."

"You know, I guess you can call me by my first name now."

I blinked. Why was she telling me that? "Uh, thanks...Erica?" Okay, better ask about it... "Um...Why are you letting me exactly?"

"Oh, no reason. I guess it's just a little payment for letting me read some of your letters."

Not exactly what I had in mind, but I don't recall any of us getting paid yet. Either that, or we did and I'm letting the memory of my money supply slip past my mind...

"You're just sore that your Striker Unit is getting shown up by a prototype," Gertrud's voice said, making me return to the problem at hand.

"Hey, guy wearing a watch containing a prototype of his own sitting here," I said as I pointed at my watch. I don't think either one heard me, though.

"You don't count, Sage. Yours operates like a normal Striker Unit." Okay, maybe they did hear me...

"Still a prototype, right?" I don't see any of you girls (or Draco) having a Striker Unit like mine.

"I have to agree with Barkhorn on that one, Roland," Erica said quickly. "Your Striker Unit revolves on some sort of technology that's a bit too complex for us right now."

I sighed. Regardless of how I called upon it, the Striker Unit I used did act like a normal one. Except for the whole "Neuroi Mode" thing, but then again it might just be me. "True...though I never asked for the stupid core to fuse with me." I really didn't: I barely had any time to react before it fused with me and dragged me into this world. And it has yet to tell me how to get back home, if it can even tell me that...

"Lunch is ready," Yoshika said as she came over to my table and placed down a plate of dumplings. "Hope you enjoy it, Roland-kun."

Just then, my stomach growled, and I chuckled lightly. "Ah, thanks, Yosh. You're a life-saver."

Yoshika suddenly gained a slight blush. "W-well, it's my pleasure."

As I watched her turn around, I got an idea. "Hey, you want some? I doubt I can finish this off myself."

Yoshika turned back around and looked at me. "Um, yeah...though...you sure?"

"I haven't really expended a lot of energy recently. I don't feel like trying to eat a horse right now." I smiled very quickly. "Course, that's just a figure of speech. Ha ha..."

"I know. It's just a little odd for you to ask me that. I still have to help Lynne with the rest of the team's meals..."

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle that." I stood up and, shoving my letter and pencil into a pocket, pulled out the chair a bit before walking over to Yoshika and ushering her to sit in it. "You just sit here and relax, okay?" I pushed her in gently as I went into the kitchen to finish the little Fuso Witch's task for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Right after lunch, it was more testing.

This time, it seemed like it was a test of top speeds. While I recalled the top speed of the Jet Striker (supposedly), I wasn't too sure how much more work Charlotte had put into her own Striker Unit. From my memories she managed to break the sound barrier, but that was only one time.

"Look at them go," Yoshika said as everyone on the team watched the test in progress. "They're both fast!"

"Shirley's much faster!" Francesca said as she cheered for her friend.

"I wonder how much energy Captain Barkhorn's using flying that thing at high speeds," Draco said as he watched the test.

I looked at the only other male Witch on the team with a look of confusion. "Meaning...?"

"Think about it." He turned to look at me. "I'm barely a new member on the team, but you've known these girls for a while, right? What is Captain Barkhorn's strong point?"

Her strong point? "Uh, lifting...her magic is telekinesis-type. What does that have to do with...?"

"Lifting? I'd say that it's unrelated to speed, wouldn't you?"

Unrelated to speed? "So what you getting at is...?"

"To Shirley and myself, we understand how much power one needs to speed up. More powerful engines give you faster speeds. To Captain Barkhorn, speed isn't something she needs to worry about. It's not a part of her magic."

"So you're saying that Gertrud is trying to go all out?" Makes some sense considering those two's rivalry as of late.

"It's possible." Draco shrugged his shoulders slightly. "It's just my own observations, though."

Soon, the two of them started coming back in from their testing. However, I took a look at Gertrud and noticed something off: she was wobbling around on her x-axis (well, she looked like she was trying to do a barrel roll and getting cold feet about it. That sound better?).

"What is it, Roland?" Lynette asked me as I think she noticed my stare at the Karlsland captain. "Is something wrong?"

Oh...shit...

"Hold that thought for a second, Lynne," I told her as I ran ahead. I kept an eye on Gertrud's changing approach pattern as I adjusted my speed and direction to try intercepting her as she came in.

I think the Jet Striker had other plans as I finally noticed something completely off: Gertrud had most likely fainted while coming in and was unable to control the prototype. The head of the brown-haired Karlsland Witch pointed at me as I closed my eyes.

_This is going to hurt a lot..._ I thought as I stopped and felt the Karlsland Witch plow into me fast and hard. As I heard the Jet Striker power down, I was thrown off balance and felt myself collide with the ground back first. I instinctively rolled horizontally as we skipped down the runway, my body taking the brunt of the damage from the collisions as grunts of pain left my mouth. After the fifth skip, we came to a stop as the back of my head hit the concrete hard.

I soon saw black immediately.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

Major Sakamoto, Hartmann, and I were about twenty meters behind Roland's group, watching the test from a distance as we took some notes, when Barkhorn and Shirley were beginning their landing approach.

"They sure gave us some useful data to consider," Major Sakamoto told me as she looked at the results of the top speed test, which she had written down based on the speedometer she had with her. "I think that's good for today's testing."

"Agreed," I said as I looked at Barkhorn, who was swaying from side to side like she was about to do a aileron roll but was getting second thoughts about it. I then looked at Roland, who broke from the group and was running down the runway in the same direction as the incoming Witches. "Why is Roland running down the runway?"

I got my answer (and I watched in horror) as Roland stopped just in front of Barkhorn's landing path, and the two of them collided. The Jet Striker seemed to shut off, which sent the two of them rolling down the runway, skipping across the concrete about five times before coming to a stop, my friend being on top of the Neuroi.

"Trude! Roland!" I shouted as Major Sakamoto, Hartmann, and I rushed to the site of the crash. The others had gotten the idea and was rushing there as well, the first ones to join us being Draco and Perrine.

"Give them some air!" the major barked as she started getting everyone to back away a little. "Miyafuji, check them for injuries, and fast!"

"Right!" Miyafuji said quickly as she crouched and looked at our teammates. She looked at Barkhorn's body first. "Captain Barkhorn looks fine. A little bit of scratches, but she seems fine. Roland-kun must have absorbed most of the damage."

"Get Barkhorn off the lieutenant and out of the Jet Striker," I ordered. As I watched Perrine and Draco pull Barkhorn off and work on removing the captain from the prototype, I turned my attention to Roland as Miyafuji took a look at him. I found myself gasping slightly: the lieutenant looked a little scraped up, having injuries on his arms. His clothes miraculously didn't look damaged but rather looked more like they had been scraped around a little, but that wasn't why I was gasping.

We saw a small pool of blood next to the right side of Roland's head. When Miyafuji gingerly turned it to take a look, it looked like he had broken his skull and was bleeding there.

"That's not good," I said as Miyafuji rested the left side of his head on the ground gently. "We need to get Roland inside the infirmary for treatment-"

"No, ma'am!" Miyafuji countered as her head turned to face me. "He might have injured his back during the crash. If we try moving him as is, we could break his back and paralyze if not outright kill him. I'll have to heal him right here and make sure his back's alright."

"But your magic isn't going to be strong enough..."

"I'll be fine, ma'am." Miyafuji looked determined, and I don't really blame her: Roland was probably her closest friend...next to Lynne, that is.

I nodded slowly. "I hope you know what you're doing, sergeant." If something went wrong, then she, Roland, or both of them could potentially be killed during the healing process. After all, she had wasted most of her energy healing the major last time.

Then again, this is the most banged-up state I've seen Roland in since first meeting him.

As Miyafuji activated her magic to begin healing him, I turned my attention to the matter of the Jet Striker, which was sitting well away from Perrine, Draco, and Barkhorn (the two of them had evidently carried her to provide the distance).

"I don't know what happened to make her faint," I said as I looked at the unconscious captain. "I do know this: until further notice, we'll be exercising extreme caution with that...thing."

I think Barkhorn was starting to recover from being unconscious as she shook her head gently.

"Hang on, ma'am..." she said as she started coming to.

"Trude." I crouched down and looked at her. "Are you feeling fine?"

"I'm fine...What happened?"

"You crashed into Roland while coming in. You were unconscious when it occurred."

Barkhorn frowned slightly. "Please, ma'am...let me try again..."

I shook my head. "No. As of now, I'm confining you to your quarters. As for the Jet Striker, I don't want anyone using it. Understood?"

"But..."

"No exceptions." I made the sternest face I could muster. "We nearly lost you and Roland this time. I'm not taking any chances of losing another Witch if it happens again."

"All done, ma'am!" Miyafuji shouted as she finished healing Roland.

I nodded. Now, all I have to do is get him into the infirmary for a closer check-up...and to give him some rest after this event.

"Can he be moved?" I asked the little Fuso Witch.

"Should be able to, if you're careful with him," Miyafuji told me.

I nodded my head. "Major, Hartmann, and I will move the lieutenant to the infirmary. Draco and Perrine, I want you two to escort Barkhorn to her room. Everyone else, take it easy for a while. We'll do the same once we deliver our patients to their destinations, alright?"

"Right!" everyone said.

Hartmann, with some help from Major Sakamoto, lifted Roland so that she could place Roland's left arm across her shoulders. I slipped his right arm across my shoulders, and we lifted him so that his feet were at least going to be dragged along the ground and not his back or something. The major grabbed Roland's legs and led us toward the infirmary.

Everyone looked worried, but I was probably the most worried: I didn't want him to die on us so easily...

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**And there goes the first part of the current arc.**

**It took me a while to make this one feel right, so please read and respond with how you felt about the chapter.**

**Thanks, and I'll see you guys in the conclusion of this arc.**


	7. Hard, Fast, Amazing! (Part 2)

**Alright, I'm back with the next chapter in** _Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_**!**

**Okay, to start things off, I'll do what I usually do: answer reviews.**

_Dragonman75_**: Yeah, that seems to be the pattern for Roland, sadly. Then again, he was the sucker who decided to go with Minna to become a Strike Witch (though, to be fair, he's had an interesting time so far, so maybe not so much of a sucker?). Anyways, thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

_fuji92_**: Don't worry. Roland will have time to shine with presenting information that the girls don't even know about, though he's not the definitive expert on everything. He can only go off of what he knows, seen, did, or heard about. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Knowing Roland, he should make a full recovery. Well, "full" in the sense of "for the moment".**

**Anyways, with the reviews answered...it's time to check into the infirmary where the injured Neuroi Witch was taken to...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 7: Hard, Fast, Amazing! (Part 2)**

_Roland's POV_

I opened my eyes slowly and felt the oncoming rush of pain, forcing me to close my eyes again rapidly as I gave off a groan.

"Roland?"

I groaned again as I opened my eyes again, this time a little faster. Everything seemed so..blurry. Like I was watching a movie where the guy whose point of view they were filming from was barely recovering from some sort of trauma or something of that nature.

I barely caught red before I was soon smothered by someone hugging me tightly. I could feel the arms behind my neck as a head was on top of my left shoulder.

"Roland! Thank God you're alright!"

I grimaced in pain as I lied there, my eyes finally seeing clearly.

"We thought you weren't going to wake up!" I heard Minna's voice say as the hug tightened a little. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"...Commander?" I groaned.

I think Minna was a little confused by me calling her name. "Roland?"

"You think you could...you know...let me..._go?_" I said that last word in a strained tone.

"Huh?" Minna's hug stopped tightening briefly. "Oh! Sorry!" She let go instantly, and I took in a breath of air as I lifted my head, squinting my eyes a little from the bright light above my head. I noticed that she was standing on the right side of me, Yoshika and Mio standing on my left.

"Thanks, ma'am. Now..." I groaned in pain again. "What happened? I feel like I got hit by a train or something."

"That's not too far from the truth," Mio informed me. "Barkhorn crashed into you while coming in, and the result was you suffering from a broken skull."

"Barkhorn?" I blinked. "Uh, you sure?"

"Pretty sure. If it wasn't for Miyafuji you'd have died about a few minutes after the crash."

"Okay..." What had happened to give me the pain I was feeling finally clicked. "Oh! Oh shit!" I tried sitting up so that I could move but found myself falling back on my back, making a soft thud. "Ah!"

"You're not completely recovered," Yoshika decided to tell me. "It's been about three hours, and you still need your energy."

"Now you tell me..." I groaned that sentence.

Ow, I feel achy all over...

"I'd say get some rest," Mio said. "You survived being incapacitated for perhaps the rest of your life if not nearly killed for your idiocy. Some rest will serve you well now."

"Sorry, major," I said as I sat up again, this time succeeding but closing my eyes in pain as I felt my body tense up. "I want to make sure that Captain Barkhorn's alright first."

"But you need your rest, lieutenant!"

The commander raised her hand, catching our attention.

"While I don't think it's a good idea," Minna began, "I think Roland should at least make sure that Barkhorn's okay."

"What?" Mio asked her. "But Commander Minna, Sage needs as much rest as he can get! What if a Neuroi attacks tomorrow or even right now?"

"Roland's state of mind is more important right now. If we keep him from seeing the captain, then he might start worrying about her. This way, we can at least ensure that he's got a clear mind for resting."

Mio looked like she was about to retort with something else but sighed instead. "Alright. It _is_ a bad idea for Sage to try resting without feeling comfortable. Miyafuji, can you check Sage to see if he can be cleared for moving?"

"Sure thing!" Yoshika told the major as she grabbed my head and turned it gently so that the back was facing her. I felt her fingers trace an area around the back of my head gently. "You feeling any pain when I touch around here?"

"I've got pain in general, Yosh," I told her. "I'm a little light-headed and my body aches a lot, but I don't think I have anything else wrong."

"I see...well, you seem to be experiencing the effects of your injuries. I don't see anything wrong with your body. No broken bones, nothing. So I guess you can go. At least as far as I can tell."

I looked at Minna as she nodded her head. "Alright. I'll tell the doctors that you can go. But I want you to report back here after dinner and get some more rest. Understood, lieutenant?"

I nodded my head. "Crystal, ma'am." I then remembered something. "Oh, is the Jet Striker alright?"

"For now. I don't want anyone trying to use the Jet Striker, especially Barkhorn."

I nodded again. "Alright. No using the Jet Striker. Understood."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Gertrud's POV_

I have to say, this was not how I was planning to spend my peace and quiet right now.

I mean, there wasn't much to do in this room aside from the mess Hartmann had made. I swear, I put down a line to divide our room since the beds in here were separate, and already there was some of it going over said line.

I'm so going to give Hartmann a lecture on cleanliness if this keeps up.

Anyways, with nothing else to do, I decided to do some exercises to keep in shape.

I was doing some sit-ups when I heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked as I sat up and looked at the door.

"It's the pizza man," I heard Sage's voice say. "It's me, Barkhorn. Can I come in?"

"Yeah. I guess."

The door opened up as Sage entered carrying a plate holding two slices of pizza. Two rather big slices. "I brought dinner for us, if that's cool with you."

I blinked. "Dinner?"

"Yeah. Figured I'd take a page out of Sanya's book and bring you a meal while you're stuck in your room. At least, the one she used when I was in this situation."

I stood up and took a seat on my bed as Sage sat down next to me, and, after he handed me a plate, we ate. The plate he had was sitting precariously on his lap.

"Wow," Sage said as he whistled softly while looking at Hartmann's side of the room. "Erica-I mean, Hartmann's not very good at cleaning up, is she?"

"She's not," I said simply.

"I see." More silence followed before Sage added, "Well, asides from that...you feeling fine?"

I glared at the lieutenant. "I could ask you the same question. You're supposed to be in the infirmary until further notice."

"I got permission from Minna herself to leave. At least for now. I wanted to make sure you were doing fine."

I stopped eating as I looked at the ground. "Why? It's my fault you ended up being hurt."

"Don't say that, ma'am...you mind if we talk casually?"

"Sure, I guess." I took another bite as I resumed my meal. "So, Sage...how'd you deal with being stuck in your room back in Britannia?"

"That?" Sage blinked. "Oh! That! Uh, I...well, I just threw a sword against the wall, had a quick conversation with Sanya, and got the idea of going after the Neuroi we had saw earlier. At the time, mind you."

"I see. All I can do is stay in shape."

"Relaxing is sometimes the best thing to do."

I looked at Sage, who was smiling. "Meaning...?"

"You worry about being ready a lot and you're sometimes unprepared for things."

I frowned. "That can't be right. Discipline means that you're ready for everything."

Sage shook his head. "Take it from someone who's used his knowledge to read the future. Even if you're ready for all possibilities, there's almost always a loophole for someone or something to exploit."

"Read the future...you honestly believe that I buy what you said about not knowing what's going on now?"

Sage blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When we were storming the base, you said that you were unable to tell what will happen after we beat the Warlock. Yet based on the phrases you utter sometimes, you seem like you have more to hide than you're letting on."

"Gertrud, I'm being honest about it. I don't know what anyone's going to do. If I did, then I would have taken precautions to check for possible threats to your lives."

"Or so you claim..." I let my right hand release the plate as my left hand held it still, and the free hand curled up into a fist.

Sage's eyebrows raised themselves. "Ma'am?"

Instinctively, I slugged Roland across the cheeks, making him fall off the bed and land on his knees as he looked at me in shock. The plate on his lap had crashed onto the floor and had broken into pieces.

"Gertrud..." Sage tried before he looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, but I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what's going to happen."

"Save your breath," I said as I placed my plate on the bed, stood up, and picked him up before slamming him against the wall. Backing up as he stood on his own, I started throwing punches at the Neuroi Witch.

I was hoping that he would be able to defend himself as I attacked him. Instead, the boy simply took the hits as they landed inside his chest.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" I asked him as I backed off, panting from venting my anger.

"Why should I?" Sage told me as he was also panting and nearly doubled over in pain. "I deserve every punch you've got. I don't think I've had enough punishment for my deception last time, so come on and give me everything you've got."

I clenched my fist to throw another one at him, but I stopped myself. Why am I even acting like this? I mean, Hartmann and I were the ones who had tried getting Commander Minna to rethink the way she had treated him after his secret was revealed to us. He's also been doing everything he could to make sure we're alright. Why am I choosing now to do this? Why is _he_ saying that he deserves every punch I gave him?

Besides, Sage had just gotten out of the infirmary. I didn't want him to go back in and have to be in there longer because I lost my temper.

Softening my fists, I sighed and said, "Look, I've got a lot to think about. Just leave."

Sage closed his eyes in pain before he said, "Sure thing, ma'am."

As I watched him stumble out of the room, I sat back on the bed and stared at the broken plate.

I think beating Sage up in anger just gave me an idea...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

I don't really know why exactly my guts was feeling like it hurt. Really.

I guess it had something to do with the fact that Barkhorn and Roland had nearly been killed when the Karlsland Witch crashed into him while coming in.

I mean, she was the one who started pushing herself too hard and becoming unconscious. Besides, she really wanted to fly it, so I took Lucchini's suggestion and decided to allow her to fly it.

Hmm...maybe that's why I feel like this right now.

Either that, or those dumplings were coming back to haunt me.

I shook my head. Nah, that couldn't be right...

Right, where was I?

Oh yeah. I was sitting inside the hangar as I was tinkering with my Striker Unit, a small red toolbox sitting to my left.

After pitting my Striker Unit against the Jet Striker, I was a little disappointed that the prototype was able to outperform Merlin like it was nothing.

"This goes here..." I said as I was putting some parts back inside it. "And this goes there..."

"Hey, Shirley," I heard someone's voice say from behind me.

In surprise, I stopped what I was doing, and a piece shot out past my head. Turning around and ready to apologize for the piece hitting the person behind me, I soon saw Draco as he stood there, holding the piece (a screw).

"You know," Draco said as he tossed the screw back to me. I caught it with my left hand, my right hand holding a screwdriver currently. "I didn't really expect to be greeted like this again."

I turned around and started to put the screw back into Merlin as I said, "What is it you want, Draco?"

"Is that any way to treat a friend?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk." I soon found myself fighting to put the screw back in completely. "Stupid thing...just go in like a good little screw."

A hand touched mine, and I looked over my right shoulder as I saw Draco's head. His right hand was on top of mine, and it was soon joined by his left hand as he helped me screw in the misbehaving piece.

"Something's eating at you," Draco told me as he let go and backed off.

Standing up and facing him, I fired back with, "Nothing's up with me, Draco!"

"I beg to differ. Come on, Shirley. We're friends, aren't we? Been that way since we first met each other."

I blinked as I somehow thought about the first time I met Draco...

XXXXXXXXXX

_I had been riding a bicycle down a road, trying to see how fast it would go. I was young and rather reckless at the time, and I didn't see where I was going._

_I struck something, and before I knew it I was falling off my bike as I tried to correct it. I remembered feeling a lot of pain as I lied there on my chest._

_I've seen a lot of Witches, especially Roland, take hits and keep going, but when you were only nine it was difficult to keep from crying in pain. Probably because I had never really felt it like this._

_When I had gained enough energy to try moving, I felt my right knee ache, and when I looked at it I saw that I had received a rather nasty scrape across it._

_I closed my eyes as I tried to avoid looking at it, and soon I could hear a voice._

_"**Hey, miss,**" a young boy's voice said as I opened my eyes, looked ahead of me, and saw a boy in a yellow shirt, blue overalls, and brown work boots. "**Are you okay?**"_

_"**Huh?**" I asked as I looked at him before I remembered my knee. "**I hurt my knee...**"_

_"**Hold on.**" The boy reached into a pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief. "**I know it's not much, but it'll help stop the bleeding.**" He helped me sit on my rear before he reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small canteen. Opening it up, I watched as he poured water onto the wound. I tried crying out in pain, but the boy simply moved himself closer to my right side. "**If you need something to grip, just use my shoulder, okay?**"_

_I only nodded as I grabbed his left shoulder while he continued pouring the water, trying to keep from crying out in pain. When he felt that it was ready to be covered, he took the handkerchief and wrapped it around my knee, tying it tightly so as not to let the wound be exposed._

_"**I think it'll do for now,**" he said as he stood up. "**Let me take you to my mom. She knows more about treating injuries than I do.**"_

_"**Uh, sure,**" I said as I tried standing up. However, I felt my right leg unable to do much due to the pain, and the boy helped me onto my feet as he slung my right arm over his shoulders. "**Thanks...**"_

_"**No problem.**" __As we started walking, the boy took a look at my bike. It just sat there on the side of the road, rather useless and a little banged-up. "**Sorry about your bike.**"_

_"**It's fine.**"_

_"**I can come back when I drop you off and bring it there.**"_

_We walked a little bit in silence before I added, "**Shirley.**"_

_"**Huh?**" The boy sounded surprised._

_"**My name is Charlotte Eldwood Yeager, but you could call me Shirley if you want.**"_

_"**Charlotte, huh? I'm Draco Leonardo Dracon, but friends call me by Leo sometimes.**"_

_I don't quite know why, but I had smiled._

XXXXXXXXXX

"I guess you have," I said as I returned to the present. "Well..." I sat down and leaned against Merlin gently. "I'm a little bummed-out about what happened."

"Bummed-out?" Draco asked me. "What about?"

I sighed. "I feel like it was my fault that Barkhorn fainted and nearly killed herself and Roland. Especially when Lucchini told me not to try to fly it myself."

"So you think that by telling Barkhorn that she could test it out instead, you feel that you were the reason why Lieutenant Sage is in the infirmary for the night?"

"Yeah." I looked at the boy. "What do you think?"

"Personally? I think you're taking this a little too far by trying to blame yourself. We're all responsible for our own actions. You, me, Barkhorn-it doesn't matter. What we do is up to us and us alone."

I looked at Draco as he gave off a warm smile and couldn't help but give off a faint smile of my own. Maybe I _was_ over-reacting. I mean, Roland must have dealt with this sort of feeling the first time around. Then again... "Thanks, Draco. That actually sounds like something Roland would say." I looked down again, my smile fading. "But I'm still upset that Merlin couldn't compete with the Jet Striker."

"Come on, you're Glamorous Shirley. What problems involving performance can't you solve? We used to fix car engines when we helped my dad with his line of work. Hell, we did a lot together." I looked up and watched as Draco knelt down so that he could look at me more closely. "So don't think for a second that you can't make Merlin better than that thing. Whoever built the Jet Striker may have built an advanced piece of equipment, but they don't know the most important thing about building things..." He placed his left hand on my right shoulder and looked at me with a smile. "It's not your ability to put it together that determines the performance. It's the heart you put into making it do what you want it to."

I smiled slightly once again. "You know, I forgot that you can be thoughtful sometimes, Draco." I then nodded my head. "But you're right. Just because I can't beat the Jet Striker now doesn't mean that I can't make Merlin able to perform alongside it if not overshadow that piece of Karlsland technology." I turned around and got on my knees as I resumed tinkering with Merlin. "Thanks again, Draco."

"No problem. Mind if I help?"

I looked at the toolbox and, reaching inside with my left hand, tossed him a second screwdriver. "Help yourself."

"Thanks." He knelt down next to me as I smiled more.

"Hope you like staying up a little late." At this rate, I may have to run some quick tests with it to make sure that it's getting better, and if I wasn't satisfied with it then it'd be a long night. Though with Roland in the infirmary for a while it might not be a good idea, so I'll just put Merlin back together and pick up on where I left off later.

"Not a problem, Shirley."

Maybe I should call him by his nickname.

Leo...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"Morning, Roland," Minna said as she and Mio stepped into the infirmary just as I was waking up the next morning.

"Morning, ladies," I said sleepily as I stretched my arms over my head. "What's up for today? Other than me being sore, that is."

"Not much for you, unfortunately. Due to the incident yesterday, Captain Barkhorn is inside her quarters until further notice. As for you, I wanted to ask you to not do anything that could strain your body."

"While Miyafuji managed to heal you," Mio went on to say, "your body did have a few injuries from the crash." When I groaned in pain as I grabbed the back of my head with both hands, she continued with, "Most notably, the back of your head."

"You do remember everything that's happened to you up to this point, from the _Ascension_ incident to your...visit to Barkhorn's room, right?"

I groaned.

Right, that's probably why I feel like crap right now. Gertrud turned me into a human punching bag temporarily while we were eating dinner in her room. That, and my head was killing me right now. Maybe I slept on it funny?

"I can't make any promises," I said as I shook my head to clear the pain. "I did say that I'd have no idea what's going to happen after our battle with the Warlock."

"Noted," Minna said in return. "But try to take it easy, okay?"

"I'll do my best. Again, no promises." I got out of bed slowly and felt my body correct itself to keep me from tumbling onto the floor, though my arms were flailing about before I found my center of gravity. "So anything else?"

"Not that we know of. Just relax for today."

"Can do, ma'am."

"Come on, Sage," Mio said as she beckoned me to follow her. "I know just how to let you relax."

"Uh, sure?" What did she have planned for me?

XXXXXXXXXX

Showers, Mio Sakamoto's way.

Probably not what Minna meant by "relaxing".

Then again, it was so like Mio to just drag me into the showers.

Right, if you have no idea what the shower room looked like here, just imagine a simple shower set and multiply it by about fifteen.

Good thing these ones come with curtains behind me and five-foot-high walls to my left and right. The major, Yoshika, Lynette, and Perrine were on either side of me, the little Fuso Witch in the stall on my left, the major on her left, the Britannian Witch in the stall on my right, and the Gallian Witch on her right.

From bathing by myself at Anna's to having to take a shower with the girls (to a degree)...I wonder how much more messed up my day can get.

"And here I thought you were going to give me a break from having to bathe with you girls," I said, referring to Mio. I said that rather sarcastically.

"Be glad you at least have a curtain to use along with these walls, lieutenant," Mio countered.

Actually, she's right: at least I _do_ have a curtain protecting my eyes.

Still doesn't help when I can simply peek over the walls, but I wouldn't do that.

Not sure about anyone else in my position, though...

"How are you holding up, Roland?" Lynette asked.

"Rather fine," I said as I washed my hair. "Other than a headache and some lingering aches, I'm fine."

"That's good to hear," Perrine added. "We'd hate to be down a Witch. Especially a Witch with a Neuroi core inside him."

"Thanks for reminding me, though I'm not flying for the day. At least, that's what Commander Minna told me."

"That she did," Mio said before she thought of something. "Yesterday, you were saying something about jets in your world. What exactly do you mean?"

I blinked. "Jets? Oh, right! Well, I'm not too sure about planes in particular, but the first jet fighter I can remember was the Eff-Fourteen Tomcat. Back when I was a kid, way before I was forced here, my mom, step-dad, and siblings went to the air museum in Atwater. There was this jet there; I think it was a Eff-Fourteen Dee variation. Anyways, it was in use until about 2006, when the United States retired it from their active fleet. The decals on my Striker unit, if you pay attention to them, show a skull-and-crossbones pattern. It's the squadron insignia of the Jolly Rogers squadron. There were others, but I'd have to remember them." I then placed my right index finger on my lips. "Though I'm wondering what the Jet Striker's based on..."

"Probably this Eff-Fourteen you talked about."

"Naw. The Eff-Fourteen program wasn't really born until...about the late 1960s, I believe. Way after this decade."

Mio nodded. "Makes sense. You think we'll end up with a Striker Unit like that?"

"That's not like mine?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Don't know. Hell, the Neuroi would probably be gone by then. Who knows, right?" I then removed my finger from my mouth and noticed that there were soap on it still. I licked my lips and was soon spitting the soapy mess I had placed inside my mouth. "Ugh, God! Why'd you let me do that?"

"You should pay more attention, my word," I heard Perrine say as I continued trying to rid my mouth of the soapiness.

XXXXXXXXXX

A while later, and I lied down on my bed, sighing in relief.

"Finally," I said calmly. "Nothing to worry about...wonder if this is what being in heaven feels like?"

In case you ask, I did not want to die. At least, not of shock while seeing something I wasn't supposed to.

You know, now that I think about it...it's probably a bad omen if I ended up in an anime. I mean, I've seen _Rosario + Vampire_, and I'm aware of the idea of a harem-

Wait a second!

Don't tell me...I'm going to end up like that...

It doesn't sound bad, honestly, but the main problem is that it'd be hard to keep everyone happy. Besides, I'm over eighteen, so it would be a small harem legally (if it's even legal in the first place).

...I'd rather leave the chance of getting a headache alone and try not to go down that path.

Of course, it doesn't help my sanity one bit when the alarm starts ringing.

"Dammit," I said as I sat up and looked at the door. "I was wanting to get some sleep, not listen to the sounds of something coming from an alarm clock." I poked my head out the door and was greeted by Minna running by. "Hey, commander."

"Oh, hey, lieutenant," Minna said as she came to a stop in front of me. "Good. You're staying put. Listen: I want you to keep an eye on Barkhorn. Make sure she stays put and gets some rest."

Get some rest, huh? Knowing Gertrud, she's probably working out right now. "I'll see what I can do. Don't die out there, okay?"

"Not heading out there, but I'll be sure to tell the others you said that. Now, get some rest and if you have any concerns come to the command room." Minna ran off.

Command room...got it...better check up on Gertrud first before trying to sleep again...

XXXXXXXXXX

Okay, she wasn't in her room. I should know: I just checked in there.

Something's odd around here. She's not in her room (as she should be)...

Maybe she snuck off to get something to eat.

I headed into the dining hall and kitchen and looked around.

I didn't see her there either.

Okay...showers?

I shook my head violently. Being dragged in by Mio was one thing, but I was damned if I actually stepped in to see Gertrud while she was taking a shower _intentionally_.

Okay, so "no" on the room, the dining hall, the kitchen, and the showers.

Where else could she be?

I then had a strange thought: if I knew Gertrud correctly, she probably wanted to use the Jet Striker again. And that was inside the...hangar...

Blinking very quickly, I took off toward the hangar, hoping that I was wrong and that the Karlsland captain wouldn't do something that stupid.

I burst into the hangar and made a beeline for the Jet Striker, which had no one inside it thankfully. However, for some reason I couldn't put my finger on there were those four machine gun things and the cannon designed for the Jet Striker.

I didn't think about it too much: at least Gertrud wasn't here and trying to go into battle.

"Whew," I said as I sighed in relief. "I thought that she would get in and-"

My aura senses flared up, and I soon ducked under a chop aimed at the back of my neck. Turning around quickly, I had to sidestep a kick before I backed off and looked at my assailant, one Gertrud Barkhorn.

"Captain!" I shouted in surprise. The captain was standing there, looking determined to do something. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not letting them take on that Neuroi alone," Gertrud said as she swung a kick at me, forcing me to duck once again. "I need to get back in the Jet Striker."

I got into a defensive position, arms ready to block. "No way, ma'am! If you get in that Jet Striker, there's no telling if you'll even live to see the end of this engagement."

"I'll take that risk, now get out of my way!" Gertrud threw a punch that I barely avoided by rolling behind her.

Man, she's really determined. Ten points for guts...minus perhaps several million for idiocy. "Even so, I was told to keep an eye on you. I'm not letting you fly off this base!" I tried throwing myself at her to pin her down, but I made a bad decision.

One reason was because, since I was up against someone whose power was being able to increase her strength, I soon found myself being easily swung over her left shoulder and thrown onto the ground back first, landing in a pile.

A second reason was due to the fact that there were a lot of spare parts in the pile, which made the landing worse for my back.

"Awk!" I shouted in pain as I rolled off it and lifted my head, unable to get up until I could gather up some strength and move again. I could see Gertrud as she dusted her hands off and walked toward the Jet Striker. "Gertrud...don't do this..."

Gertrud stopped and looked at me. I swore she looked a little sad. Only a little.

"I'm sorry, Sage," she told me softly. "I'm going to help protect them. I hope you understand..." She jumped into the Jet Striker and, powering it up while grabbing the cannon only, took off down the runway.

I know how Gertrud must feel right now: I've been feeling like that since the being showed me the alternate ending that would have occurred had we failed to defeat the Warlock that day.

But that doesn't excuse her using the Jet Striker to go in and fight! Especially against Minna's orders!

I tried getting onto my feet, but the injuries I had received were too much, and I crashed onto the ground chest first.

"I'm sorry..." I said to myself. "Minna..."

Everything went dark...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

"Man," I said as I used a BAR to fire at one of these stupid rockets the Neuroi had decided to launch at us. "You'd think it would fire lasers at us or something."

"Must be getting smarter," Draco included as he fired behind me and shot down a rocket. "Lasers are cool and all, but nothing really beats a good old-fashioned rocket coming right behind you while you're distracted."

"Not helping, Draco." I shot down a pair of missiles coming toward us from behind Draco's back.

"Just a thought."

We were all trying our best to fire at the Neuroi, but in addition to its rockets (which begs the question of how much more ammo it actually has) it had a quick reaction time. Plus, it was one of those "fly-in-any-direction" ones.

Yeah. Annoying at best.

"I'd help us out a little if Lieutenant Roland-kun was here with us," Lucchini added as I watched her, Eila, and Yoshika help Lynne pick off rockets.

"Yeah," Eila retorted. "Not to be mean to the lieutenant, but I doubt he'd come up with a plan before we got our rears handed to us."

"I'm not sure," Yoshika added. "Roland-kun has made some good ideas, and he can think outside the box."

"Sounds like a jack-in-the-box," Draco joked.

"What does a toy have to do with Roland-kun?" Yoshika looked a little confused.

"He just pops out an idea, right?"

"Yeah," I added light-heartedly. "Just like you pop out things like that."

Soon, we could hear more rockets coming toward us.

"Crap," Draco said as we split up. "Gotta move and keep focused."

"Shirley!" the major shouted out. "Behind you!"

"Huh?" I asked as I turned around and was soon looking at a rocket coming toward me. I hastily aimed my gun at it and blasted it away before it could collide with me, but a second one had gotten around my blind spot and was closing in for the blow...

Until a loud shot broke right through it.

"Barkhorn?" I asked as I turned to look at Barkhorn as she was utilizing the Jet Striker.

Wait, she was using the Jet Striker again? I thought Commander Minna told us not to use it!

"Wait a second!" Minna's voice said through the radio. "Barkhorn's in the air?"

I think Barkhorn said something, but I don't believe she had a radio in her ears, though she could have not wanted us to hear her words right now. Anyways, she was firing her cannon at the Neuroi rockets, destroying them. She then aimed for the main unit, which spat out a core once she made a bullet hit it. With quick reflexes, she fired a round that pierced through the core, destroying it while flying past me.

"You okay, Shirley?" Draco asked me as he flew to join me.

"Yeah," I told him. "I'm fine."

"Good. I was worried for a second there..."

I then looked at the Karlsland captain with a slight smile.

"Way to go, Barkhorn!" I shouted into the radio.

There were no responses, something that got me a little worried.

"Barkhorn?" I asked. "Can you hear me?"

Still no response.

"What's going on?" I asked the others through the radio. "She's not responding and she's not slowing down."

"That's not good," Major Sakamoto's voice said. "The Jet Striker's out of control! She's using up all her magic!"

What? The Jet Striker's _what_ now?

"Shirley!" Minna said quickly. "Go!"

"On it!" I said as Draco and I picked up speed. While Draco was trying his best to keep up, I ended up leaving him behind. When I got close enough to try getting to Barkhorn, I raised a hand and tried reaching for her, but the Jet Striker picked up speed suddenly. I found myself getting angry. "Damn you!"

"Come on, Shirley!" Draco's voice said through the radio. "You've got this!"

I could hear Merlin give everything it had to build up speed, and soon I was reaching close to the speed of sound. With this boost in speed, I managed to catch up with Barkhorn and put my arms under hers. I reached out for something on the Jet Striker. "Unhand her!"

I pulled the emergency switch, and the Jet Striker stopped before sliding off the unconscious captain's legs and plummeting into the ocean. I soon slowed us down a lot as I stopped our motion.

Sighing in relief, I soon looked down at the captain, who had her head against my chest as her right hand laid on one of my breasts. I think the captain looked a little content as we floated there.

"Augh!" I heard Lucchini's voice say as I looked at the others. "My boobies! My boobies! Get your face out of her rack!"

"You think you could say that any louder?" Draco's voice said over the radio. "I know you like to snuggle up in them, but announcing that they're yours _out loud?!_"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Eila, Sanya, Draco, and I blinked as we looked at what had happened to the Jet Striker as a result of Charlotte's action. It was pretty much broken beyond repair. Even if you could get the salt water out of it, I'm fairly certain that this is just about done for.

Though it was actually interesting to see the inside of the device.

I was rather thankful that someone picked up on Gertrud's antics because after Minna gave the orders to return to the base the girls found me unconscious. A quick body check by Yoshika along with some minor healing (for the fall-on-spare-parts damages) later, and I was able to move again. Though my body's sore once again.

Jeez, you think I've had enough of being sore for the last two days?

"Why does everything exciting happen while you're asleep?" Eila asked Sanya, who was standing next to her.

Considering that she was referring to Sanya's habit of sleeping during the day, I couldn't blame her for asking that. However, there have been a few exciting things that occurred when she was awake. Namely the battle against the Warlock.

"It's in pieces," Sanya noted.

"I consider it a blessing," Perrine, who was standing at a table behind us, added. "That thing was out of control."

"Still a hell of a way for a prototype to go," I said to myself. "Falling into the ocean..."

You know, the last time some Striker Unit was falling towards the ocean it was Charlotte's back in Britannia.

"Yes," Minna added in a more serious tone. "And so was the person who used it." She was with Mio, Erica, and Perrine at the table, though from my memory they were looking at Gertrud and Charlotte, the latter of whom looked like she was relaxing.

"Yeah," Charlotte said in Gertrud's defense, "but she was the reason why we beat that Neuroi. You could go a little easier on her."

"I agree with Shirley," Draco said as he picked at a bit of the Jet Striker's protruding body fragments. "if it wasn't for Barkhorn, I doubt we would have been able to beat it.

"Rules are rules, sorry," Minna concluded.

"Ah, come on," I decided to say as I walked over to the group. I believe that Gertrud's punishment for the whole thing was peeling potatoes. "Lighten up. She's not the only one who's done something stupid before."

"She threw you onto a pile of parts, and you're defending her?" Minna looked both confused and slightly ticked at the same time.

How does she manage to look like that? "Not really..."

"Besides," Mio added as Gertrud put a peeled potato into a bowl with other peeled potatoes and started on another one. You know, I think this is a rare sight to see: a rather saddened Karlsland captain. "It was the first time she's ever disobeyed a direct order, isn't it?"

Not sure if you'd call it a _direct_ order...

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble, everyone," a new voice said.

Every one of us at the table except for Gertrud (focused on peeling) looked at the owner of the new voice, who was standing behind Mio. For some reason, she looked like Erica...

Hang on, that wasn't Erica.

I mean, she had close to the same jacket as Erica, but there were a few differences that I was trying to get my head around. Namely the glasses.

"Why are you apologizing?" Mio asked.

"This has nothing to do with you, Hartmann," Charlotte added.

Hartmann? Oh, so that's why she looked a little similar to Erica...

Wait, she doesn't look a _little_ like the Karlsland lieutenant I know. She looks a _lot_ like Erica!

"Oh, no, actually..." the one named Hartmann apparently started before I could hear Yoshika and Lynette push in a cart carrying dinner. Like before the testing, the Britannian Witch had a apron on.

"Okay, girls, Draco, and Roland," Lynette said as they pushed the cart into the hangar. "We've got food if you're hungry."

"We just received a lot of potatoes, so I tried to make a bunch of different dishes out of them," Yoshika added. I then watched as Yohsika handed Hartmann a packet of fries. "These are fries, Hartmann."

"Oh, thank you," the newcomer said as she grabbed a fry.

I think Yoshika either noticed the change in the voice or just now thought about the fact that her appearance didn't really match that of Erica's. "Wait, you've always worn glasses?"

Uh, no. Unless Erica was secretly blind. In which case, yes.

"Yes, I have," Hartmann said in return.

I cocked my head to the right in confusion.

...Okay, I don't think she was helping the situation, even if she wasn't sure of it. Hard to tell; I've never met her before, and I don't recall Erica telling me about a twin sister. Or any sister for that matter.

"Yummy!" Erica said as she jumped and grabbed Yoshika's shoulders from behind.

"Oh, Hartmann!" Yoshika said as she turned around to face the other Hartmann. "You can have some if you want."

Lynette looked a little surprised, and I wouldn't blame her.

Suddenly, I think everyone (excluding me; I was trying to put the pieces together here) gasped as we all looked at the two look-a-likes.

You know, odd time to think about it, but you think that song from the old _Sonic the Hedgehog_ movie, "Look-A-Like" could apply here?

"Hello there, Erica," the newcomer said calmly. "Good to see you."

"Ursula," Erica greeted while munching on a fry a little. "Hey, sister."

Okay, _now_ I'm really confused: Erica Hartmann has a sister, and her name's Ursula?

"Sister?" everyone asked at once.

Minna grabbed Ursula's shoulders from behind and began with, "I'd like for you to meet Lieutenant Ursula Hartmann, otherwise known as Erica Hartmann's twin sister."

"Twin sister?" we all asked again, with me putting an emphasis of the word "twin".

Okay, I think I arrived at that conclusion myself, but at least Minna was nice enough to confirm my thoughts.

"She's a member of the staff that developed the Jet Striker," Minna continued.

While everyone else gave off a sound of understanding, I walked up to Ursula and examined her very closely. For some reason, I decided to check something: I found myself removing the girl's glasses from her face a little before sliding it back on, noticing what I saw.

Funny how those two could fool people into thinking they were really themselves if all they did was switch glasses. But that was for changing looks: I'm sure people could tell who was the real Erica based on personality.

I think I slid the glasses back and forth about twenty times before I placed them back on her face gently and said, "Sorry. Let my curiosity get the better of me."

"It's okay," Ursula said calmly. "It's nice to see that someone from the maintenance crew's down here to assess the damage to the Jet Striker."

I blinked in slight horror.

...What?

Oh no...don't tell me we're going to have a repeat of what happened when I met Adolfine for the first time...

I am not a member of the maintenance crew! Do I look like I could look good in overalls? I know I look odd enough due to wearing pants and everything, but come on! I don't even know how the hell a Striker Unit gets put together!

"Oh," Minna decided to say for me (funny how she probably sensed my inner annoyance). "Right. Ursula, that is Lieutenant Roland Sage, otherwise known as the Neuroi Witch. He's a member of our wing."

Ursula adjusted her glasses a little as she looked at me.

"Ah, so this is the Neuroi Witch?" she asked. She blinked and, without even sounding panicked due to possibly pissing off a potential ally, added, "I'm sorry. I thought you were a part of maintenance. Please excuse my oversight."

I waved my hand in front of me.

"Sure thing," I said neutrally. "Not like you're the first to say something like that." Adolfine beat her to the punch already.

Speaking of her, I wonder how she's doing...

Ursula then walked over to Gertrud and continued with, "I wanted to apologize. Captain Barkhorn, I'm sorry for any trouble we may have caused. And...please know we were completely unaware of the Jet Striker's apparent fatal flaw."

"You had no way of knowing that anyways," I said with a slight smile.

"Oh, hell," Gertrud added as she waved off the matter with a free hand. "It was just a prototype anyways. So don't worry. I feel like I should apologize to you for destroying it."

"Not at all," Ursula answered. "I'm just relieved that you're alright. I'll take the remains back to our homeland."

"You came all the way here to get that?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, although there's not much left. But I also brought potatoes as an apology for the trouble."

More potatoes, huh? I know at least two of us are going to love this...

XXXXXXXXXX

Anyways, a while later and we were standing there as Charlotte and Gertrud reached for the fry on top of the pile.

"Hey, that's my fry!" Gertrud said quickly. "You better let go!"

"No way!" Charlotte said as she forced the fry into the air. As it fell back down, the two of them grabbed for it and caught it, once again beginning the tug-of-war. "This is from a Liberion recipe, so I'll eat it!"

"I don't care where it's from, I need to replenish my energy if I wanna regain my strength."

Uh, why does this sound familiar? Maybe it's because _it's almost how this whole mess with the Jet Striker **started**!_

"Come on!" Charlotte said as the two girls tugged at the fry. "Admit you like it!"

"Well, it could be worse," Gertrud replied with a straight face.

"Geez," Yoshika said as we looked on. "We made so many, why are they fighting over one?"

Good question. Let's ask these two-oh wait, we can't right now!

"That's their thing," Erica told the little Fuso Witch. "It's what they do. Don't worry about it."

Charlotte and Gertrud decided to go for a scary-face/staring contest using the table as their stage. Soon, they pulled at it yet again, but it never came back down because I decided to interfere.

"Jeez," I said as I used my gyrokinesis to grab the fry and make it come to me, catching it with my right index finger, right middle finger and right thumb. "You two really need to lighten up more often." I waved the piece of food in question a little.

A quick look of what I could only call anger from them a split second later, and I found myself gulping.

This was going to hurt...a lot...

And the hounds of hell were unleashed as the captains charged at me. I tried making a break for it to save myself, but I was too slow for the speed freak.

Soon, I could feel a lot of nails clawing at me and overall tug-of-war fighting as they grabbed at the fry in my hand.

"Stop it, you two!" I shouted. "It's just a measly fry!"

"I fought hard to get that fry!" Gertrud said.

"I reached for it first!" Charlotte added.

"Give it back, you jerk!" both of them said at once.

"Wah!" I could only cry out as I was soon engulfed in pain while the girls tried to get the food back.

Why me?

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland: Next time on **Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return-**_

_Francesca: When it comes to yummy Romagna food, there's-_

_Roland: Sorry to interrupt, but what the hell?_

_Francesca: It's a great time! It's a trip to the city of Roma._

_Roland: And what makes this trip **oh** so special?_

_Francesca: You'll have to wait and see! Next time: **My Romagna**._

_Roland: Dammit, Francesca! You're not exactly helping me with the pre-_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, there's the end of the current arc.**

**Just for those who are curious about Draco, I plan on working on his past with Charlotte as the story develops because, to me at least, it doesn't seem to be a good idea to let the cat out of the bag immediately. I figure that I'd take it a bit at a time, so stay tuned for more about it.**

**Speaking of his past, I tried looking up something that could have worked based on Charlotte's history, but I couldn't find anything concerning her childhood. Not even something that could have conflicted with the fact that Draco was in active service for the six months before this story started. So I thought I'd try my hands at making something that made sense.**

**And because I never thought to say this when I began the current story, let me repeat something I put in my first story's beginning chapter: I'm not perfect at getting details right. Those who read and responded to** _Strike Heroes _**as the chapters were being updated probably know, but now that I'm getting more people reading this...if there's something you feel I got wrong in the story (character's personality, event that occurred, etc.), don't be afraid to let me know. I'm always open to any corrections, comments, and critique you guys can think of. :)**

**Anyways, please read and respond with how you felt about the chapter, and get ready for the next arc of the story.**

**Thanks, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	8. My Romagna (Part 1)

**Welcome to the next chapter of **_Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_**.**

**Now, before I get going, let's answer reviews first:**

_Dragonman75_**: Thanks for the review. I really hope that I didn't make Gertrud break character when I put in that scene, but I wanted to see how she would take being stuck in her room. Probably didn't help Roland out too much since he could be considered a Liberion Witch alongside Charlotte, but I thought it would be interesting to see how she would feel about Roland's statement about him not knowing what's going to happen anymore.**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review. I don't think Roland really paid attention to the fact that it didn't look like a it was a good idea to try breaking the fight up.**

**Anyways, now that the reviews are done, it's time to continue and join the Strike Witches inside the base...**

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 8: My Romagna (Part 1)**

_Roland's POV_

_**Dear Letter**_,

_**Hey there. It's me again.**_

_**You know...Roland? The only one who writes these things right now?**_

_**Anyways, since I forgot to finish the letter from the last thing I got involved in, I might as well give you the short version.**_

_**The Jet Striker seemed to have been a bad omen. A really bad omen.**_

_**Where should I start, with the fact that Gertrud fainted while using it despite restrictions against its future use or the fact that I had quite literally my ass handed to me while trying to keep the Karlsland captain from using it?**_

_**Either way, it resulted in Gertrud being punished by...peeling potatoes?**_

_**Oh, there was a good thing to have come out of the whole thing: other than I'm still alive without the help of Gertrud's attacks, I met another Witch.**_

_**Ursula Hartmann, to be more precise.**_

_**I think I remembered reading something about her on the Internet before coming here, but when you've spent what feels like closing in on two years since ending up in this world...you tend to start forgetting minor details. Besides, I never really gave it much thought until I wrote this letter.**_

_**Anyways, she's Erica's twin sister...**_

_**Wait, who's the older of the two? I mean, twins aren't exactly born at the same exact time...right? I don't have a twin, so I don't really know about it.**_

_**Anyways, I guess I should cover what happened much more recently, since I don't feel like writing a separate letter for that when I'm writing this one.**_

_**Now, where to start?**_

_**I guess the point that started this set of events. It involves Yoshika, the kitchen, and a bag of rice...**_

XXXXXXXXXX

It was just another normal day at the base...

"Lynne, we're out of rice!"

...Okay, maybe it wasn't so normal. Starting with the fact that we're out of rice.

"But...what are we supposed to do?" Lynette asked Yoshika as the girls were standing at the stove, trying to make some food. "No one's sent us any more yet."

I groaned as I laid my head on the counter in front of the girls, facing them.

The only reason why Yoshika said what she said was because as she was pouring out the rice bag, only one bead of rice came out of it.

"It's like we're in the middle of nowhere," I commented. "Man, they could at least keep up with the delievries. We've got mouths to feed!" You think they forgot that they've got the famous Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing over here or something?

I think Yoshika saw someone going across the open doorway, and she called out to the person (Mio).

"Hey, Sakamoto!" she said loudly. "Can we get some more rice? We ran out!"

I lifted my head, straightened my body, and watched as Mio stopped and looked at us, and I barely caught what she was saying to herself.

"It seems everyone needs to use the same supplies at the same time," the major said as she turned her head away a little. "This could be a problem."

I'd say it's a problem: that is only enough for a small rat or a family of cockroaches. And I don't want to go around looking for one or the other on this base because, assuming that there is even one of those on the base, I'd be more concerned with why we had them here in the first place.

"What should we do now?" Yoshika asked us.

I'm out of ideas, Yoshika, so...

"Wait for a miracle?" I tried.

And I was right...sort of.

"We're actually out of a lot more than just rice," Minna said as she poked her head into the doorway next to Mio.

I sighed. Of course. We've got thirteen Witches' mouths to feed. Add in perhaps fifty more for the men maintaining the base, and we were probably looking at a huge problem.

...Wait, we're out of _more_ than just rice? I hope this doesn't end up like us drinking dog's milk or something. Though we'd have to have something like Holly from _Red Dwarf _to tell us that we were indeed drinking dog's milk.

"Would you three like to take a shopping trip?" Minna then asked.

"Shopping trip?" I asked as I looked at the girls, whose heads somehow came a lot closer to my side in eagerness. I jumped back a bit in surprise: man, they did that very quickly!

"Okay!" they said at once, sounding genuinely excited.

Okay, today's lesson: when one girl wants to do something, most likely they both want to.

I shook my head. Should have known better...

XXXXXXXXXX

"From here on out," Minna began as we were all gathered in front of a desk in the briefing room. "We are providing our own supplies."

Funny how I'm seeing this room for the first time. Mio and Minna were standing in front of a blackboard, a rather long desk in front of them. We were in front of them and the desk at the same time. Around us about a few feet away were five tables that looked like something you'd see in a lecture room in a movie featuring a college, arranged in a semi-circle around our position.

Anyways, I was standing between Charlotte and Gertrud (not a good thing considering what I went through with that stupid fight for a measly fry), my arms crossed in front of me.

"I don't understand," I said quickly. "They provide us with a base and ammunition, but they skimp out on food? What are we, chopped liver?"

"Don't worry too much about it," Mio told me.

I placed my hands on my hips and sighed. "I kinda need to, major. I don't know if and when we'll even get food."

"Anyways," Minna continued. "Shirley and Francesca? I'm leaving you two in charge of this mission. I figured that would be best because Francesca is a native and Shirley is most comfortable with the big truck."

We're going to have to bring back a lot of food if we're taking a big truck, huh? Makes sense.

"Understood!" the two people named off said.

"Wow," Charlotte added. "I haven't driven in a while."

I feel sorry for the suckers who go with them. It's not that I doubt Charlotte's driving, but if she hasn't driven in a while...

"I'm sorry that we can't send more of you today," Mio decided to add in, "but there's no telling when the enemy might attack."

I nodded. Makes sense, Mio. We still need to have a group of Witches here for defense.

Francesca was soon hopping about while chanting, "We're going for a drive!" over and over again as Charlotte was commenting that she had wanted to get off the base for a while.

"Sergeant Miyafuji, Sergeant Bishop, and Lieutenant Sage?" Minna said. "I'm sending you three along as well."

And this is where one Witch decided to say something.

"Um, excuse me?" Lynette began as I looked at the Britannian Witch, who was raising her hand up nervously. "I'd rather be on stand-by if that's okay."

"What?" Yoshika asked her friend. "But why?"

Maybe it has something to do with not getting her breasts fondled by a certain Romagnan Witch (who was conveniently still hopping up and down. Jeez, where's the off switch?). I'd worry about that as well, but...

Let's just say that worrying about Eila, Francesca, or (on the off-chance) Yoshika messing with me like that wasn't really high on my list right now.

"Of course," Minna said in acceptance as she nodded her head. "Miyafuji and Roland, you two will be escorting them."

"'Kay," Yoshika said.

"Understood," I added as I gave off a salute.

"Lucchini," Mio added, "we'll rely on you to be their guide."

Francesca, who had stopped jumping up and down, gave off a grin as she stuck her left arm up and said, "You can count on me!" before flashing a peace sign in front of her.

Wait, she's going to be our guide?

"Miyafuji, be sure to stick with Shirley and Sage and follow their instructions," Mio added.

"Right!" Yoshika told her.

"And Sage? Try not to give them too much trouble."

"Can do," I replied.

Me? Give those girls trouble? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"If anyone wants something specific, let us know now," Minna concluded.

Something specific, huh? Well, I don't have to worry about replacing the slacks that got destroyed during my first activation of the prototype Striker Unit due to the military actually getting smart and sending me enough uniforms to cover for the week plus three for the times when I felt like wearing it and have to use the Striker Unit to fight...but I do need to get another pair of swim trunks to replace the ones from that day at the beach...maybe an envelope for sending letters to Kayley or something while I was at it...

"Something we want..." Mio mused to herself. "Well, we could always use more training equipment."

Don't you think we have more than enough of those? Then again, what am I saying? This is Mio we're talking about, right?

"Perhaps," Minna said in response as she got a little red around the cheeks (no clue why). "But that's not what I meant. I'm thinking more along the lines of relaxation."

"No argument here," Gertrud said, "because they say if you're gonna work hard you should play hard. And I agree."

Um, is that really something Gertrud should be saying?

"Well, if that's the case," Mio decided to say, "then baths will be important for keeping up morale after working all day."

Minna and I sighed. I don't quite know why she was sighing, but I know why I was: I'm not comfortable with taking a bath with other girls. Yeah, I had some time to work on it with Mio dragging me in there back in Britannia, but do we really need a repeat of that incident a week after Charlotte broke the speed record?!

Who am I kidding: with my luck, I'll recreate it _exactly_ when we get one for this base!

"Is training really the only thing you girls can think about?" Minna said. "Does anyone have a more realistic request?"

This led to Lynette raising her hands timidly.

"Major?" the Britannian Witch tried. "Maybe...maybe some more tea would be nice?"

"Yes, Lynne," Minna agreed. "Tea time is very important." She then looked at Mio. "I think I'd like a radio. Wouldn't that be fun?"

I raised an eyebrow.

A radio?

Okay, even if she was being sincere about it (I have no clue right now), wouldn't the...

"But our transmitter works just fine and it's one of the best you can get," Mio pointed out.

What Mio said. Unless Minna meant...

"I meant one we could put in here," Minna clarified. "Wouldn't it be nice to listen to some music or the news?"

I sighed.

Okay, that really clears things up.

"Yeah, I suppose," Mio said before looking at us. "Then that's your assignment. Does that all make sense?"

"Yep," Yoshika said. When I looked, she was writing on a piece of paper in her left hand, her right hand holding a pencil. "Tea and a radio. I'm writing everything down."

At least Yoshika got the right idea...wait, where did she grab the pencil and paper?

I patted my right leg pocket and found my pencil and piece of paper still sitting there. The only reason why I had it there was for the letter I was hoping to write to record today's events.

I thought I was the one who was pulling pieces of paper and pencils out of his or her pocket like it was a bottomless pouch.

Okay...should I ask?

"And a piano!" Eila decided to say. "Did you get that too?"

A _piano?!_ For _what?!_

Minna laughed before she said, "I think that might be a little too heavy for Roland to handle by himself."

Wait, am I going along for loading purposes?

Eila groaned as she added, "Fine. I guess I won't be able to hear Sanya play again." She then looked at Sanya. "What about you? Is there anything you want?"

Oh, that's why she asked for the piano...for Sanya...I get it now...

I'm such an idiot sometimes...

"Don't worry," Sanya told her. "Why don't you ask for something you want?"

"I guess something practical," Draco said quickly. "I'd like to get a mechanic's suit. That, or some parts for modifying my Striker Unit."

Sounds like Charlotte will have to figure that one out.

Yoshika ran in front of Gertrud and asked, "What about you, Barkhorn?"

"I'm alright, thanks for asking," Gertrud told her.

"'Kay, but what about a souvenir for Chris?"

Chris? Oh, right! Gertrud called her little sister "Chris". Remember that because I saw a picture of her last time I was on the team. "Oh! Maybe...that would be nice..." Gertrud looked in my direction, and I noticed that she had a blush appearing on her face.

What is she blushing about? It's just a request.

"Yes...clothes are fine..." the Karlsland Witch continued as she slowly worked her way through the "simple" request. "You know, cute ones..."

Yoshika looked confused as she asked, "Huh?"

Gerturd turned her back to the little Fuso Witch in embarrassment. "I said clothes!"

Yoshika walked so that she could see the Karlsland captain's face. "Um, we can do that. What styles does she like?"

Gertrud turned away yet again as Francesca joined Yoshika. "Uh, I don't know...does it really matter? Why don't you guys just pick something? She's Lucchini's size."

"So we'll choose? You sure?"

"Yeah, fine." Gertrud started inching off to her left. "Whatever you guys get would be fine. I trust you."

Edited, whatever _they_ get would be fine.

On second thought, she's blushing at the mention of her sister? Probably because Chris looks like Yoshika, I guess. I did point that out to her when I saw the picture.

"Okay, you got it!" Yoshika said as she wrote down Gertrud's request. She then looked at Perrine. "What about you, Perrine?"

"Huh?" Perrina asked before turning her head away. "No, thank you. I'm perfectly fine."

"But...we never get to do this..."

Perrine looked at Yoshika. "You deaf? I said no!" She huffed and then stormed off.

"I'm sorry..."

SLAM!

I frowned slightly.

I hope this isn't going to be an issue we revisit from the first season. I'm not throwing myself into the middle of two feuding girls with guns again...

"It's not you, Yoshika," Lynette told the little Fuso Witch and myself. "She's been donating all her pay to the Gallia Restoration Foundation lately and would rather have her share go towards that."

Donating, huh? Well, that at least clarifies why she was acting like she used to just now. Though she could have been just a _wee_ bit more polite towards Yoshika about it...

"Really?" Yoshika asked.

"I-I've thought of something else!" Lynette added as I think she thought of something. "Do you think you could get some flower seeds too as well as my tea?"

"Sure!" She then looked at her list so far. When I looked at it myself, I read off the list to myself. Tea, radio, seeds, shirt... "We need to ask Hartmann what she wants."

Of course, when Erica's last name was mentioned, we had good old Gertrud to comment about that.

"I haven't seen her all day," the Karlsland Witch said before clenching a fist. "She's obviously sleeping!" She led Yoshika off to go find Erica.

...Hey, bring Yoshika back! I was reading her list, dammit!

"You know," Minna decided to say. "I just remembered something. Shirley, can you come over here a minute? I wanted to tell Miyafuji myself, but Barkhorn's taking her elsewhere."

"Sure thing, ma'am," Charlotte said as she walked up to Minna.

Soon, Minna whispered something in her ears. Judging from Sanya's slight reaction, I think the commander was telling Charlotte something for her to deliver to the little Fuso Witch. When she finished, she added, "Be sure to tell that to Miyafuji and Lucchini just like I showed you. We can't have _him_ knowing about it."

Him? Okay, it had something to do with me, huh?

Wait, there's Draco to consider into the so-called "equation" too, but I learned one thing (if it's even something I should be learning): if it's Minna saying that, then it's got something to do with me.

And now Sanya's smiling slightly.

Come on, can someone tell me what's going on?

XXXXXXXXXX

"Got everything, Roland?" Charlotte asked me as I arrived at the truck we had used to get those supplies from Junko back to the base.

"Should," I told her. "I have my wallet with the money I saved so far, I have my clothes, I have the watch on my wrist...yeah, I'm pretty much set."

"Hopefully you find something you like while we're there."

I then looked at the truck. "Uh, where's Yosh and Francesca?"

"Over here, Lieutenant Roland-kun!" Francesca called out as she poked her head out from the back just enough for me to notice her. "Yoshika and I are going to ride in the back for a while. Wanna join us?"

"Uh, no thanks for now. I'd love to ride back there when we return, though."

"Okey-dokey, then!" Francesca poked her head back in.

Just to check on them, I walked ot the opening in the back and saw Yoshika and Francesca sitting there, the little Fuso Witch looking a little content.

"Hey there, Roland-kun," Yoshika told me when I arrived.

What does the "-kun" part mean again? Don't know, and I'll have to ask later. If I actually remember to do that. Right now, let's focus on getting to the city first.

"Hey, Roland!" Charlotte's voice called from the front. "You gettin' in or what?"

"Huh?" I asked as I blinked. "Oh, right!" To Yoshika, I added, "Hello, Yosh. We'll have time to chat later, okay?"

"Alright," Yohsika said before I ran to the front and, opening the passenger door, hopped into the seat and buckled up. Charlotte was behind the wheel of the truck, and once I was set she turned the vehicle on, the engine starting up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later on, we were driving towards town, passing through a countryside.

The countryside itself was rather...peaceful. It was like I was watching a Disney movie without birds flapping around chirping overhead or rabbits hopping around underfoot...I don't know, but it was looking peaceful.

"Rather nice countryside," I said. "I'd like to camp out here sometime."

"I'm pretty sure you will," Charlotte told me. "The outside world is beautiful when you stop to notice it."

"Too bad we usually have the Neuroi to worry about, or else I'd really get lost in that beauty." I settled into my seat a little as I was getting comfortable. I then thought about her clothes. "Hey, Shirley?"

"What is it, Roland?"

"Erm...why are you wearing a red shirt? I thought you had a brown jacket, not a red one."

"Oh." I think Charlotte blushed slightly. Why the hell is she blushing, because I pointed out the red jacket she's been wearing for a while now? "Well, they lost track of me, and so I had to get this in order to replace my old jacket."

They? "The Liberion Army?"

"Yep." The blush went away. "It's nothing too big. Just think of it like this: it's just like your vest receiving that emblem on the back. It's functioning as a vest still, but now it looks different than how it was when you first wore it."

I nodded my head. "I get it, Shirley." I let the matter be and relaxed again.

We soon saw a road ahead next to a mountain.

"Looks like a clear road to me," Charlotte said.

"I'd say it is," I added. Nothing to worry about: no Neuroi to try killing us. Just three girls and me...it'd be a slightly less-strange paradise if the three girls weren't under the age of eighteen.

What she said next gave me a slight chill: "Now to really drive..."

I blinked as I looked at the Liberion Witch. "Now to really drive?"

Grinning a dark grin, Charlotte changed the gear as the engine started to sound like it was getting louder.

"Um..." I started. We're not about to do a round of _Mario Kart _with this thing, are we?

"Here we go," Charlotte said as she put her foot on the gas.

I soon found myself holding on to the bottom of my seat as we suddenly received a burst of speed. Somehow, I could Yoshika scream, but I couldn't tell if it was in fear of surprise.

If I screamed, though, I could definitely tell it's probably going to be in fear...

We were soon driving along the mountain, no guard rails on the left side of the vehicle. I could hear Yoshika screaming still, so I had to assume it was in fear.

"We're gonna die!" I heard Yoshika say. Yep, sounds a lot like fear.

"You mean, we're gonna fly," Francesca corrected her.

I blinked.

Fly? Charlotte's not going to...

We soon reached a right turn, and it looked like the Liberion Witch wasn't going to slow down.

"Hold on, guys," she said simply, that same dark look on her face.

You know that thing I said about the suckers who were going with them?

I change my mind: I'm feeling terrified!

"Shit!" I shouted as I looked at the rapidly-incoming cliff that was at the beginning of the curve.

Soon, we ran right over the road and were sailing through the air as we landed on the road again about...maybe an eighth of a mile ahead if we actually stuck to the road. We swerved about a little before Charlotte straightened out the truck.

As I could Francesca cheer, the Liberion Witch said, "Nailed it."

"...Mama...mia..." I could only say before I closed my eyes.

And I think I fainted again. This time from fear...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

"Ah, my tummy hurts," I moaned as I was hugging my stomach. Lucchini and I were now in the front with Roland and Shirley, the former looking a little sickly.

"My heart..." Roland moaned as he sat against the window of the passenger side. Lucchini was sitting right next to him while I was seated between her and Shirley. "I shall never take racing games for granted ever again..." He was even clutching at his chest, which was a little weird for him to do.

"Hey, you two, stop," Lucchini told us. "Don't get sick on us!"

I sat up and was soon amazed by what I saw.

"Oh wow!" I said in glee. "We're really here!"

"Nice coliseum," Roland added as he regained some color in his face.

"Is this your first time in Roma or something, you two?" Lucchini asked me as I was looking out the front window in awe.

"Yeah..." I said in awe. "What's over there?" I pointed to our left.

"That's one of the old fighting coliseums, isn't it?" Roland asked the Romagnan Witch.

"Yep," Lucchini told us. "I can't believe you know something about it, Roland-kun."

I watched as Roland looked a little embarrassed. I don't think he actually heard Lucchini call him by that on its own. Usually, she added his rank to it. "Uh, thanks. I did remember something about it..."

"Wow!" I shouted as I looked around still and pointed to a building at random. "What's that?"

"That's the town hall," Lucchini said.

"It's the most beautiful town hall ever."

Lucchini giggled. "So cute. It's like you're nine."

"Roma is such a beautiful, historic city," Shirley started saying as we drove on.

"Yes, is it," Lucchini said as she relaxed a little. "And the natives are gorgeous."

I looked at the Romagnan Witch. "I'm pretty sure I can guess what that means. Were you born here? It really is wonderful."

Lucchini leaned against Roland. "Yeah, you're right."

"You couldn't stop bragging about Roma even when we stayed in an African paradise," Shirley included.

"Yes, I could!" I looked at Shirley in amazement. "I just didn't want to 'cause it's that great!"

"Put your guns down. We're all Team Roma, okay?"

"Uh, who said I was a part of that team?" Roland asked dumbly.

I giggled a little as Lucchini slapped the back of her right hand against Roland's left shoulder.

"What the hell did I do?" the Neuroi Witch said in slight irritation.

"You know what you did..." Lucchini told him.

"Did what?" I think Roland was confused.

It was nice hearing them talk like this.

XXXXXXXXXX

When we stopped and got out, Shirley asked, "Are you sure about this place?"

"Yep!" Lucchini said quickly. "This shop has everything you could possibly want!"

Roland looked at the store and asked, "This is it? It's rather...small..." I'm not sure if he was expecting something a little bigger...

Shirley looked at him and added, "Hey, Roland?"

"What is it, Shirley?" Roland turned to face Shirley.

"If you want, you can go wander around town for a while. Just be sure to come back to the truck before we leave, okay?"

"I guess. While it'd probably be a better idea to stay with you three, it'd be nice to have a look around town." Roland walked off to go explore. "I'll see you around!"

"Okay, be sure to meet back here so that we can return to the base, okay?"

"Understood, Shirley."

"See ya!" Lucchini called out.

"Have fun!" I added. As soon as he was out of earshot, I continued with, "Good idea, Shirley. That'll make it easier to get Roland's gift."

"Speaking of that," Lucchini added, "why are we getting him something?"

"According to Commander Minna, she wanted to get him something special," Shirley explained.

"Something special?" I asked. "For what?"

"Well, I guess the commander wanted to surprise him with a rather late birthday gift."

I blinked. "Roland-kun has a birthday?"

"Duh!" Lucchini replied to my question. "Everyone's got a birthday!" She then turned to the buxom Witch. "So when was it?"

"It was back in May," Shirley told her. "I think. She didn't tell me the exact day, but I suppose that if she wants to give him a late present then that's fine with me."

"I wonder why he didn't tell us about it..." I said.

"Probably because he didn't think we needed to know about it."

"But it's a good day to celebrate!" Lucchini replied.

"I agree," I added. "I know, let's celebrate it when we get back."

"Depends on when we get back," Shirley told me before she waved toward the store. "Anyways, let's head inside and get started."

We entered the store, and I was soon surprised by what I saw.

"Wow," I said in awe. "Amazing!" There were so many things on the shelves!

We soon got to work on finding things on the list. Shirley found the radio, so I could get that off the list.

"I'm getting this for me!" Lucchini shouted cheerfully. I think she was holding a basket filled with things.

"Hey, did you put in an alarm clock for Hartmann?" Shirley asked. "Take this, my arm's falling off."

"Oh-kay!"

I looked at my list after I grabbed a few packets of flower seeds and put them inside a basket we had with us.

"Flowers..." I said as I stood up and went to go look at the clothes. "And now some clothes." I looked through the clothes they had in stock before I grabbed a pink shirt with a frilled collar, a red bow under the collar, and frills on the bottom edge.

"Ooh," Shirley said as I showed her and Lucchini it while trying to think of how well it looked. "That would look great on you. Get it."

"Ah," I began as I remembered why I was looking for clothes. "Oh no, it's not for me. This is what Barkhorn asked us to get."

Shirley looked a little surprised as she came up to me and examined the shirt more closely. "What?" She then looked at me before returning her gaze back at the shirt. "Really? Barkhorn?" Whatever she was thinking about, she was soon laughing hysterically. She was bent over, her left arm over her stomach as she laughed. Her right hand was in the air, waving back and forth as if she was trying to catch her breath.

"Is it really that funny?" I asked before I realized what she was trying to get at. "Wait, it's not for her. It's for her sister!"

"Her sister, right..." Shirley said when she managed to get some air before continuing to laugh.

"I promise! She asked us to pick something for her." I wasn't trying to suggest that Barkhorn would wear something like this!

"Stop it, Yoshika!" I don't think Shirley thought I was being serious about why I was getting the shirt still.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Francesca's POV_

As I sat there holding Shirley's bag while listening to her and Yoshika talk about the clothes Barkhorn had asked for, I simply yawned as I soon looked out the window.

Fortunately for me, I actually did look out because across the street were some men in suits messing with a red-haired girl. I couldn't make out much detail, but one of the men had a sort of briefcase. The girl herself looked like she had a blue coat on.

I furrowed my eyebrows. I know exactly what Roland would do in this sort of situation.

Slinging Shirley's bag onto my back, I ran out the door and toward the men.

"Super..." I began as I got ready to jump. "Lucchini..." I jumped into the air and aimed my feet at the men's heads. "_KICK!_"

I scored a direct hit to one and used it to kick off and land a second kick into the face of the other. As the men fell to the ground in pain, I landed in front of the girl. "Safe!"

"What did you..." the girl was saying quickly. "But they..."

I didn't really pay any attention to what she said. "Hi!" I then grabbed her left hand as we ran off. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" I think the girl was not expecting us to go very fast, but I had to get her away from here before those guys recovered.

I hope the others can handle me going away for a while.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Somehow, I felt a chill go down my spine.

Looking around, I could only see a crowd of people around me. Though it made sense seeing as I found a rather busy street right now.

I swear, I think those three will get more things done doing shopping than I will walking around.

Still doesn't explain the chill, though...

Anyways, let's keep looking.

I'm certain that Charlotte and the other two can find what we need without my help. I just need to figure out where the truck was so that I could head back when all was said and done.

As I walked down the street, a sign caught my eyes.

"Pet Shop," I read as I looked at the sign. "Wouldn't hurt to look..."

I found the door leading inside, and I was rather...amazed. It looked like a normal pet shop, but there were some more exotic choices. Like a snake or a...is that a ferret?

I was so busy soaking it all in that I failed to hear footsteps until someone asked, "Would you like to buy something?"

"Huh?" I asked as I looked at the person who asked me that. It was a middle-aged man with a gray jacket and a pair of jeans. "Oh, I just came in to look."

"It's okay. Take your time. I don't get much customers lately."

I frowned a little. "Tough luck, huh?"

"I don't mind. It's not as hard to maintain as you might think."

I could agree with that.

I walked around until I spotted a dog in a fenced-off area. The fence was small, not even as big as my groin, but there was a dog sitting on the inside.

I looked at it and was a little amazed.

"Is this a Rottweiler?" I asked the man (I think he's the owner of the place). It looked like a Rottweiler, but it had a tail still.

"Oh, that boy there?" the man asked as he came up to look at what I was seeing. "Yep. Got him from a shelter. Don't really know how old he is, but I think he's about eight months old."

"Can I pet him?"

"Sure thing."

I reached inside and gently scratched the Rottweiler behind the right ear. The dog turned his head so that my hand was under it as I scratched his ear. When I stopped scratching his ear, I brought my hand away and looked at him as he looked like he wanted to go with me.

You know, rotties can be kind of cute if you looked at them right.

Not that I'm getting all mushy or anything! But you do have to admit that a rottie could be a loyal friend.

But I couldn't take him back to the base. Even if I was able to, I didn't have enough money to buy him.

"I think he likes you," the man told me.

"I think so too," I said as I frowned a little. "I don't have enough to buy him."

"Well, that's a bit sad to hear." He looked at me with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Hey, you don't happen to be the Neuroi Witch, are you?"

"Huh?" I pointed to me as I looked at him, confused. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I could give him to you for free."

I was a little surprised. "Wait, you want to give me a dog for free? Are you sure?" The last thing that I got for free were those two parfaits when I first met Adolfine. I mean, a dog's usually worth a whole hell of a lot more than two parfaits. Why would he give me a pet?

"I don't think he's got much else going for him. He's been here for a while, and I'm going to have to do something about him. I'd prefer giving him to someone who can take care of him. Plus, your services are rather famous, and I'd really like to repay you for helping to keep us safe. So?"

"Well, I'm not sure..."

"Tell ya what: I'll even give you a bag of dog food with him. How's that sound?"

That's not the point, man! "Even if I wanted to, what about my team?" I don't think they'd approve of a pet on the base unless it's attached to my head and rear (ears and tail), and I'm not sure how to even do that much!

"I don't quite know what to say about that, but I'd still like for someone to take this dog."

"But..."

XXXXXXXXXX

Eff...

The girls are going to _KILL_**_ ME!_**

Okay, Roland, you're over-reacting. They're not going to _all_ kill you. Maybe Gertrud and Mio, but definitely not Minna.

...Then again, she pointed a gun to my head twice back in Britannia, so maybe I really _am_ screwed...

I heard panting, and I looked down and to my left to see the reason why I was thinking like that: the Rottweiler that was given to me. I was hauling the bag of dry dog food on my right shoulder, my right hand supporting the bag. It weighed about three pounds, and the interesting part was that it was more like dog biscuits.

The dog looked at me with brown eyes, and I sighed.

Well, regardless of whether I wanted him or not, I was stuck with this one.

Then again, that man did say that he wanted the dog to be with someone instead of...

Maybe I shouldn't finish that thought because I don't want to know what my personal final resting place would be. Though it'd probably be about six feet under.

"Alright, boy," I said as I walked on toward...well, I wasn't sure, but I was going to have to find something to do in order to not think about my potential death at the hands of at least two girls. "I guess you can come with me, but know that I'm not sure if it's going to be for long."

The pitter-patter of paws on the ground followed me as I walked through an alleyway in order to cut some time off on my travels.

"Excuse us!" I heard a strange voice say before I saw two girls running past my vision, going from left to right. One of them wore what I could only guess was a blue coat (or maybe a dress. Again, not sure), and her hair was red. She was taking a look at me with purple eyes as they ran by.

...I'm almost certain that she's not Minna. She looked a lot younger. Almost like Francesca's age, I think.

"No time to stop!" another, more familiar voice said. "Gangway!"

...

I blinked. That sounded surprisingly like Francesca...but she's with Yoshika and Charlotte.

Before I could actually see who the second girl was, they had turned a corner, and the only thing I saw of them was a white shoe before it zipped past the corner and out of my sight.

...

"Hmm..." I said before I shook my head. "I might be thinking too hard, but I think that was Francesca." I looked at the dog, who was looking at the corner the girls went around with a dog-like look of confusion.

With that said, I turned to my right and started walking to a new destination.

XXXXXXXXX

_Maria's POV_

It didn't take me long before the newcomer who had downed the men with me had grabbed my hand and led me away quickly.

"Where are we going?" I asked her quickly. Everything was going too fast for me to think clearly.

"We'll find somewhere safe to hide," the girl told me as we ran. "Don't worry, you're okay with me."

"But wait! Slow down!" I looked ahead and, as we passed by an alleyway, I saw someone starting to come out. "Excuse us!"

We passed by the person, a rather young-looking man accompanied with a dog. I think the dog was a Rottweiler, but I was more focused on the man who the girl nearly ran over. He wore a strange set of clothes, being a green vest over a white shirt, black pants with pockets around his knees, and black trainers. He had black hair, as I looked at him, he looked back at me with brown eyes. He was also holding a bag of dog kibbles, most likely for the dog with him.

"No time to stop!" the girl said as we ran by the man, not even taking the time to look at the man. "Gangway!"

The girl went around the corner, and I was still looking at the man before the wall of a building obscured my path.

"What about the man we nearly crashed into?" I asked her. I really should apologize to him for my "rescuer's" behavior at that point.

"No worries," the girl told me as we continued running. "He's okay. We didn't hurt him, so he should be fine. Though I wonder where Roland-kun is right now."

I blinked. "Roland-kun?"

"Yep! He'd know what to do!"

Um...who's this "Roland-kun"? Is he a young kid? Or maybe...he's her younger brother?

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, there's the next chapter of the story.**

**Please read and respond, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

**Thanks.**


	9. My Romagna (Part 2)

**Hello, and welcome to the finale of the current arc in the story.**

**Now, before I push on, it's time for the main event (just kidding!): replying to reviews.**

_fuji92_**: It's alright. Now, I wouldn't say he bought a pet, but the fact that he has a dog with him is not going to help him out of his situation anytime soon. As for the name of the dog, I hope the name I pick is suitable based on details.**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review.**

_Dragonman75_**: Just another day in the life of Roland Sage, I guess. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_Adam95F_**: It's great to hear that you're liking the stories so far, and I really hope I don't disappoint in the future. So please continue to read and enjoy yourself. The same can be said for the others who read this story. :)**

**Well, with that done for now, it's time to go...to a fountain?**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 9: My Romagna (Part 2)**

_Francesca's POV_

The girl I rescued and I were hiding behind some bushes near a fountain.

"Thank you so much," the girl said as we rested from our running. "But...who are you?"

I turned my head to look at the girl. I could give a better detail of her clothes: she had a white long-sleeved undershirt with a blue coat. A white sash was around her waist.

"You mean me?" I asked her. I then stood up and put my hands on my hips as I chuckled a little. "I'm an upholder of justice! Francesca Lucchini!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Maria." The girl I saved bowed slightly.

"Maria? I like that name!"

Maria (as she was called) stood up and looked at me. "I appreciate you helping me."

"Sure." I then thought about the situation she was in before I intervened. "What was happening?"

I think Maria was a little hesitant to tell me as she turned her head away from me a little. "Oh, um..."

I instantly got an idea. "Oh, I know! They're with the Mafia! I'm right, aren't I?" Those men looked like they would have been with the Mafia.

Maria looked back at me. "Um, yes. It's something like that..."

"I knew it!" I soon got a little closer to her face. "You don't need to be hanging around in back-alleys. It's really quite dangerous!"

Maria looked at me before a small smile crossed her face. "Okay. Thanks for the advice." She then laughed.

I joined along with her before we went to sit at the fountain. We talked for a while before Maria said something about shopping for something.

"Guess what?" I asked her. "I'm shopping too! Do you wanna go together?"

"Thanks," Maria said, "but I'm not actually shopping today..."

"Hmm?" I was confused: not shopping today? But... "What are you doing out here?"

"Well...um..." It looked like she was trying to remember what she was doing before her incident, and soon she had an answer. "Sightseeing, I guess...or more like taking a walk."

"A walk?" She was taking a walk around the city?

Maria looked at me. "Yes." She then looked at the rest of the area. "I rarely get to leave my house, so I don't know Roma very well."

"Hmm..." I was thinking of something. She was like Yoshika and Roland. If I remembered correctly, Yoshika was with Shirley while Roland had wandered off to buy us time to get his gift as asked by Minna. Besides, they're usually at the base working on training or something.

"I was born here, but I know nothing about it. Isn't that strange?"

I was a little surprised. I'm sure Roland's a bit like her given his situation: he was born on Earth, but he knows nothing about our world due to him being from a separate dimension. I think.

Maybe she's like Roland, having come from a different world and not sure where she is.

I wonder if Maria was really like that?

I then stood up and stepped in front of Maria as I said, "Lucky for you, you met the great Lucchini." As she looked at me in surprise, I extended a hand out to her. "Come on. Let's go."

Maria grabbed my hand, and she, Shirley's bag, and I went off to go explore the city together.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Charlotte's POV_

"Really," I said as I failed to see Lucchini inside the truck. I was on a little support next to the passenger door. "She's not in the truck either."

"She was just sitting in a chair at the store a few minutes ago," Miyafuji told me.

I stepped onto the ground and was a little concerned. Lucchini wasn't in the store, and she definitely wasn't in the truck. "Hmm...well, it looks like she left and, what's more, she took the money we need with her."

Yoshika was shocked. "What? Why? We still haven't bought any food!"

"Yeah, that's annoying, but don't stress. She'll be back."

"We have to go find her!"

I sighed and put my hands behind my head. "Well, if we do go and find her, we have to go and get Roland while we're looking. He's most likely lost somewhere and doesn't really have much of a clue about Roma."

I think Miyafuji blinked in surprise. "Oh no, I forgot about Roland-kun!"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

You know, I was trying to figure out where I was going, and for some reason the dog and I found ourselves going around and taking a sort of personal tour.

It felt a little weird because there were people looking at us as we walked. They were either intrigued that a dog without a leash (or collar, for that matter. The man, in all his infinite wisdom, forgot the thing to hang a tag on, though in his defense I didn't have a tag to warrant the collar holding it) was following me around, trying to figure out where they had seen someone like me (I doubt that there's anyone else around here who wears what I wear, but I don't have time to prove it so I'll assume that there is and leave it at that for now), or wondering why the hell I was hauling around a bag of dog food (for the dog, duh).

Our first stop was the coliseum, which looked rather...well, old. It looked a little odd, but it's amazing to know that people had built things like this. That, and I think it's the same coliseum we passed during the driving portion.

For some practice in keeping myself busy, I tried imagining a fight that could have happened. The only problem was that I found myself using Gertrud in some sort of gladiator outfit fighting lions and things.

I have no idea why I jumped on the idea of her doing something like that. Though it's better than imagining myself down there.

Then again, I'd probably be trying to survive a wave of little human-shaped Neuroi. Or the lions I was sending to their doom in the daydream about Gertrud...

Okay, moving on before I do something stranger, like putting Minna inside a Wonder Woman outfit and placing her down there...and goddammit, why the hell did I even think of that?

Our next stop was some strange stone carving of a sort of strange face with its mouth open just enough to let a hand go through. I wasn't too sure what it was called, but it looked like an object back home that was said to chop people's hands off if they had committed a crime or something or other. I don't really recall the specifics.

Because of my uncertainty about the thing itself, I asked the local people walking by and was told that it was called the Bocca della Verità. According to them, if you told a lie while your hand was inside it, the mouth would bite your hand off.

And no, I did not stick my hand in there to test it. Even if I did, I would have most likely lost it had it actually happened. I don't feel like losing a hand right now, especially my writing hand, because of a lie.

After a quick walk through more of the town, I found a fountain. Curious, I asked about tossing coins in there after seeing someone do it (and backwards, nonetheless) and was told that if I throw a coin backwards then I would return to Roma.

Hang on, isn't the expression "All roads lead to Rome"? Well, maybe I should edit it to be "All roads lead to Roma" because of the world I was in, but still...isn't that the expression?

The idea itself didn't make much sense, but I did throw it backwards for the experience of throwing a coin into a fountain backwards.

After that were some shops I found that sold clothes and some other things, and I bought a blue duffle bag for carrying the bag of dog food in. While I was there, I grabbed a pair of black swim trunks in preparations for training around water (wasn't sure about it, but if we did do something like that then I was damned if I was going to be caught without a set of swim trunks). With what I had left, I went looking around and bought some food for us back at the base. Rice (since that was the main thing that got us here), some beans (while I was a little against Yoshika and her nattō beans, I figured that she could probably make some. I bought pinto and kidney beans as well to balance it out), and flour (I guess for pancakes or something).

Anyways, I was done for now, so I retraced all my steps and ended up at a shop that looked eerily like the one we had stopped in front of.

Wait a second...this _is _the same shop we parked in front of!

So where's the truck?

I went into the store and looked around, but I didn't see hair or hide of Yoshika, Charlotte, _or_ Francesca.

As I stepped outside of the store, I sighed. You know, if I actually had a clue about what was going to happen I'd use it to figure out where those three could be in this whole place.

Well, time to get looking on foot.

"Excuse me, sir?" someone asked me.

I looked around and found two men standing about ten meters to the right of me, wearing what I could consider to be black business suits. They looked like they were with the Mafia or something, but the only thing wrong with the image was the fact that it seemed like someone had beaten the crap out of them. One even had a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Uh..." I started as I thought of something to reply with. "...Hi?" That's it? Hi? Two men who look like they might want to relieve stress by hurting someone, and the only thing you can think of is "Hi"?

My brain's going to be the end of me at the moment.

"Hello," one of them said. "You didn't happen to see a red-haired girl running around town with another girl, did you?"

I was confused until I remembered the girl looking at me when I was leaving the alleyway. "Uh...I think I did..." Was that a trick of the eye for me?

"You did?" the second one asked as he grabbed my shoulders. An accompanying growl from the dog made him let go in case the rottie tried to attack him. "Ahem, you don't happen to know where they went, do you?"

"Not really...I'm more concerned with trying to figure out where my friends went. The truck's not here."

"Truck?" the first one replied. "I know what happened to it. A while before we recovered from our assault and went to look for Miss Maria, we noticed a orange-haired girl and a brown-haired one entering a truck and driving off."

"Really? Was it in front of this shop?" I pointed to the store in question.

"Yes, that it was."

I put two and two together. "Shirley and Yoshika, then..." Something else caught my attention. "Wait, you said _two_ girls?"

"Well, I think it was like that...why?"

"Um, nothing! So how did you two get your..." I coughed and thought very quickly about my choice of words. "...faces handed to you?"

"It's not a laughing matter!" the second man told me.

I placed my right hand behind my head as I stared at the men. "Sorry, but if I went around looking like I was a member of a crime syndicate, I'd probably expect my _ass_ to be kicked. Or a cap popped into it. Take you pick." Well, I'm being honest right now.

"Crime syndicate?" I don't think the man was in a good mood right now, and bringing up the whole looks ordeal was probably the straw that broke his back.

"Well," the first one began again. "We were trying to get the girl we just described to you back to her home when some black-haired girl wearing pigtails drop-kicked us and took off with her. We were looking around the area in case they were hiding nearby when we saw your friends leave, and about an hour later we ran into you as we were returning to the car."

I looked at the dog, who looked a little confused. "Okay..." I turned to look at the men and recapped what they had told me. "You're some sort of bodyguards sent to ensure your quarry's, in case case a girl you call Miss Maria, safety, and you were deprived of it because a girl, and I'm going to assume that it was an athletic girl due to your story, ran out of nowhere, sent her feet into your faces and ran off with Miss Maria?" I was majorly confused: I could understand if they were hit in the family jewels, but the face? And by a _girl_?

Mind you, I've seen way stranger, but aren't these guys trained in how to defend themselves from drop-kicks?

I think I was about to laugh or something because the second one snapped with, "It's still not a laughing matter!"

"Okay, okay," I said as I placed my hands in front of me. "I'll see if I can find her, but no promises. I know a redhead myself, but I really doubt she's the one you're looking for. Though I have seen one recently. I'll see if I can get her to come back if I remember, okay?" Kind of a fat chance considering the size of the city and the fact that I only have a day here. That, and I have to find the girls still. And Francesca if she's not with them.

I think that's the main reason why they left in the first place...to find the Romagnan Witch...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Yoshika's POV_

Shirley yawned as she said, "Okay, they've been eaten. I give up."

We were sitting in front of a shop, Shirley trying to rest off trying to find Lucchini and Roland while I was trying a piece of cake. I think they said it was red velvet cake.

"I just can't believe we didn't find either one of them," I said, disappointed. "We must have asked everyone we saw." I took a bite of the cake and quickly became excited. "It's delicious!" To Shirley, I stood on my feet and added, "Shirley, you have to try this, it's the best cake in the whole world!"

"I'm busy being dead," Shirley simply said. She didn't look too excited, as she was slumped over, her right elbow resting on the table as her right hand was supporting her right cheek.

I cut off a piece and, poking it with my fork, held it in front of her. "Here."

Shirley looked at the cake piece before she bit the piece off and was rather excited soon after. She even stood up to emphasize it. "Whoa! That's the best cake in the world!"

"I know!"

When a waiter came by, Shirley ordered us two more pieces of cake. I then added an extra cake for Roland to try since he had to and told the waiter to bring them quickly.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Francesca's POV_

"Tell the truth, Maria," I said as we stood on the balcony of a building and looked at the whole town. "Don't you love the view? It's my number one favorite spot ever!"

"It's so beautiful," Maria said as we looked outward. "Perfect...I wish I could stay here instead of going back home."

"All you have to do is stay put." I chuckled a little.

Maria nodded. "Exactly. Tell me something: do you believe I would be able to protect this beautiful city?"

I looked at her with some confusion. "Huh?" What did she mean, protect the city?

"It's just that I'm not really sure about it right now..."

I gave it some thought. "Well, I think I know what Roland-kun would say. He'd say that he'd do anything to protect people, especially his friends."

Maria blinked. "Roland-kun?"

"He's a friend. A brave friend, even if he's a little reckless at times."

Maria nodded as she looked at the scene ahead of us. She then saw a building with smoke coming out of their chimneys. "Look, there's smoke coming from that house."

I looked at the building in question. "It's just someone cooking a meal, silly."

Maria nodded. "So here's where they all live? Every single one of those houses hold a denizen."

"Denizen?" That sounded like something Roland or Shirley would know about. I don't really do the big words.

"I had no idea until today."

I was surprised as I blinked. "Seriously?" I then recalled something. "Hang on, I just remembered that there's one more view I have to show you before you go back. It's amazing!"

"Sounds great. I'd love to see it."

I reconsidered the plan. I didn't really have what I needed to get us there. "Uh, maybe not right now."

"I understand. Then maybe you can show it to me next time, right?"

I nodded happily. "Yeah!"

Suddenly, we heard the alarm for a Neuroi ring across the city.

Oh boy...

"It's the Neuroi!" I said quickly.

"Oh no!" Maria said. Laying her right hand on top of my left hand, she added, "You need to escape quickly, Miss Lucchini."

I looked outward as I soon saw people clearing the way, and I was someone on the ground. It was a boy with a dog carrying a blue duffel bag sitting next to him. I couldn't make out much, but I noticed something forming over his legs before he took off down the path before pulling up and flying past us. I recognized the decals as he flew by, that of a skull and crossbones.

Roland...

"Sorry, gotta go!" I told Maria. "Roland-kun needs me!"

She looked surprised.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I was soon standing about a half mile away from a building that reminded me of the Capitol and the White House fused into one. In front of it was a sort of...I think it was an obelisk (or whatever the Washington Monument is considered).

The Rottweiler with me looked at the building as well.

"Okay," I said as I took a look at the structure. "Maybe we can head up there and get a view of the entire city. That should at least allow usto see the truck or Francesca..." I then looked at the dog. "If they allow dogs to go in, that is."

I focused on the building and barely took a step forward before I heard the familiar alarm of a Neuroi attack incoming.

"Aw, crap," I cursed to myself. "Not now." I looked around in the sky, but I couldn't see it. What was worse, I had no weapons with me: only this duffel bag filled with clothes I bought for myself and some food. I then sighed. I was hoping to get a day off for this one seeing as the last time I went into town I exhausted myself protecting Minna.

Oh well, complain _after_ the Neuroi is disposed of.

I turned to the dog, knelt down, and patted it on the head, telling him, "Okay, boy. If you can, take this bag and guard it well. I want you to go hide out until I get back, okay?" I swore the dog nodded his head as I slung the duffel bag off my shoulder and showed it to the dog. He softly bit into the strap and tried holding it before he dropped it.

Must be too heavy for the thing...

I decided to help him by placing it so that he had it on his back and, after making sure that it wouldn't fall off easily, turned to face the building.

I focused and powered up my Striker Unit, mentally preparing myself to engage the enemy. I saw that there were now no civilians out and about aside from the ones on the balcony up there. My flight path was a little obstructed, but I think I could go around the obelisk (whatever it was) with little trouble.

"And here we go!" I shouted as I took off down the path, twisting my way past the obelisk as I flew up and in front of the balcony. I didn't even look to see if anyone I knew was there: I was more concerned with finding and defeating the Neuroi.

Not seeing it ahead of me, I turned around and flew in the opposite direction, noticing the truck we drove here in driving toward the building.

Oh, there you are! I was looking almost everywhere for you three!

XXXXXXXXXX

_Francesca's POV_

As I watched Yoshika pull the tarp off to reveal my Striker Unit, I shouted out, "Shirley!" I then hopped over the fence and started to go before I stopped and looked at Maria.

"Wait!" Maria told me, her right hand extended as if wanting to reach for me. "It's dangerous!"

"I gotta go! I'm one of the Strike Witches!" When Maria gasped in surprise, I took off my hat and tossed it to her. "Could you hold this?" I then slid down a little more.

"A Witch?" I think Maria was a little surprised.

I turned around and nodded. "Yep." I then jumped down and started sliding down the roof. "See you later, I've gotta protect Romagna!" I then jumped down and entered my Striker Unit as I landed, my familiar activating as I grabbed my weapon and took off to join Yoshika and Shirley, who were going after Roland. Once I got to them, I said, "I'll be protecting Romagna," as I went ahead a little.

"Don't get too far ahead of us," Shirley told me as they caught up. "We still have to catch up with Roland."

"I'm fine!"

"I know you are, but you can't do it alone!"

"We wanna help protect your home too, Francesca!" Yoshika added. "Let us fly beside you."

"We're friends and teammates, aren't we?" Roland asked as we caught up with him after he dropped his speed down by just enough.

I was grateful. "You're the best! Really! Thank you!"

"Ready?" Shirley asked me. "Let's tandem attack!"

"Alright!" Roland said. "Distract him while I enter Neuroi Mode!"

"Right!" we all said as we flew ahead.

The Neuroi, which looked a little odd, fired lasers at us, making us dodge or risk getting hit.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

As we started our battle with this Neuroi, I had one question to ask: have these things watched _Star Wars_ or something? Seriously, this model looks like an X-Wing that could never open its wings up (maybe call it an E-Wing?).

Anyways, I watched as the Neuroi started focusing on Witches with guns, which left me free to focus and call upon the one thing I needed right now.

"Neuroi Mode..." I started as I entered my entry position. "_ACTIVATE!_"

I felt the lines go over my body as the Striker Unit opened up, and soon the Neuroi decided to focus on me more by firing all three of its lasers at me. I simply blocked it with a more-powerful barrier as I scanned the field. Deciding to give the girls a distraction cue, I flew in and, calling upon my wrist blade, started chopping at it. I had to back off to avoid being blasted at point-blank range, but once I did I simply went right back in.

"You made a huge mistake coming here," I told it as I continued stabbing its armor. I was making puncture holes, but I couldn't tell if it was recovering from them or not, and I was more focused on keeping it from trying to blast any of the girls out of the sky.

It was a little like that before Francesca called out, "The core! I found it!"

"Great," I said as I continued stabbing at it. "Finish it off. I'll keep holding its attention." I had to block another laser and was thrown away once again. "Dammit, stop doing that!" I went back in and continued hacking at it until I barely avoided being skewered by Francesca as she used her magic ability to punch right through the core and the rest of the Neuroi itself. As we flew away from it, the Neuroi gave off a cry before exploding.

"Game, set, and match once again," I said once I powered down Neuroi Mode. I was a little better: I still felt fine, though my body was aching. "Witches four, Neuroi zero." I think I was starting to get used to this power again, but then again I don't think I was using it as heavily.

Really hard to say right now...

"You okay, Roland-kun?" Yoshika asked me as they flew to me.

"Yeah," I told her. "I'm fine." Just glad I'm not feeling like fainting right now. Though the fact that I was feeling like shit again wasn't helping anyone out, myself included.

"Hey, Yoshika, could you hold this?" Francesca asked as she tossed her gun to the little Fuso Witch and flew off laughing.

I watched as Yoshika fumbled with the gun before holding it securely before I turned to face the Romagnan Witch flying towards...the building?

I swear, she acted like she had a date with someone...

Wait, does she?

XXXXXXXXXX

_Francesca's POV_

After tossing my weapon to Yoshika to hold, I flew back down to the balcony and looked at Maria, who was still holding onto my hat.

"Now I can show you," I said as I looked at her. I picked her up bridal-style and floated into the air.

"Where are we going?" Maria asked in slight fear as we went.

I flew us up above the clouds, and we looked at the beautiful view in front of us. "Now, just look out there. This is the view I wanted to show you from the beginning." I was rather proud of myself: I didn't expect myself to have been using the Striker Unit today, but since I had it now I was showing Maria the best view of all.

I think Maria was in awe. "It's amazing! But...aren't you ever afraid, Miss Lucchini?"

I looked at her, slightly confused. "Why? What do you mean?"

"Like what you just did...you aren't afraid of fighting such terrifying enemies?"

I was a little surprised. "The Neuroi? If we don't fight them then Romagna will disappear, and we can't have that. Protecting people's homes and friends is what we do. It's part of being a Witch. Besides, I can't let Roland-kun handle that thing on his own."

Maria said something that I definitely didn't understand. Or catch very well, I guess.

"I don't know what that means," I said quickly. "You use big words sometimes."

"You really think so?" Maria asked before we laughed.

A gust of wind took her hat off her head, but before I could fly after it, someone else caught it.

"Hey there, Francesca," Roland said as he floated there, holding Maria's hat. "Having fun up here?"

"Yep, sure am, Roland-kun," I told him. It was rather great seeing him here, but why was he floating with us right now?

Roland then noticed Maria, and he slowly floated up to us.

"Is this yours, miss?" he asked kindly. Maria nodded, and Roland gently placed it on her head. "My name's Roland Sage. It's so great to meet one of Francesca's friends."

"This is Roland-kun," I added for Maria. "He's one reason why we fight so hard."

"Really?" Maria asked as she looked at me. "He's a Witch too?" To Roland, she asked, "Um, Mister Sage...can I ask why you fight?"

"Why?" Roland asked with a smile. "It's a long story, but simply put I was just someone who was thrown into the wrong place at the right time. Even with some tragic moments, I told myself that I would protect everyone on this planet. Especially those who were part of the Strike Witches. That's kind of why I joined back up when it was reformed: to keep protecting those I care about."

Maria nodded. "But still...you must..."

Roland grinned as something crossed his mind. "_Age Quod Agis_. Roughly translated, 'Do What You Do'. It's something I've tried to live by, I guess. Never really thought about it until now."

"You too, Roland-kun?" I asked him. He had something odd to say as well?

Maria seemed to have liked what he had said.

"It's perfect," Maria said. "Where did you hear that?"

"I learned about it from someone," Roland replied as his right hand rested behind his head. "It was a sort of gift, you could say."

"I'd love to meet the one who said that. He or she sounds wise."

Roland hesitated as his smile faltered slightly. "Uh, I'm not sure if you can..."

"Oh." Maria nodded her head sadly. "I see..."

He waved his hands in front of him. "It's not too bad, actually!" He calmed down quickly. "It was a family member, that's all. They're not dead, but I don't know where they are currently. Don't worry too much about it."

That...surprisingly sounded accurate for him. I don't think he said what happened to his family, but he was here, so whether they were dead or alive...he couldn't see them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Later on in the evening, we were at the truck. Shirley and Yoshika were inside said truck, waiting for Roland and myself.

"Can you find your way?" I asked Maria.

"Yes," Maria told me. The men I had attacked to save her earlier were about ten feet behind her, standing there with a black car. "I had the most wonderful day today. Thank you so much."

"Really?" I was surprised.

"Yes. Being with you today has helped me realize what I'm supposed to do here."

"Okay." I nodded my head. "I'm glad then."

"Ciao." Maria then leaned in and gave me a light peck on the left cheek.

"Oh, and Maria, right?" Roland decided to ask. He was holding a small plate with a piece of red velvet cake on it, the blue duffel bag from the dog now on his left shoulder. "If you ever get lonely, don't be afraid to come find us. I'm glad that we showed you what it means to protect this place."

Maria leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the left cheek as well. "Mister Sage, I won't forget what you said. Good luck keeping an eye on Miss Lucchini and your friends."

"Thanks. Oh, and one more thing..." We looked at the Rottweiler, who was sitting next to him. "You mind if you can take care of the little guy, miss?"

"Why?" I asked. "You got him, didn't you?"

"Well, it was a gift from the owner of the pet shop, but regardless of whether it was free or not I can't take him back to the base without permission, now can I?" To Maria, he added, "I think you'd be able to keep him happy and well-fed. Oh, and here," He handed me the plate and, opening the duffel bag and rummaging around in it, pulled out a bag of dog kibbles. "Lucky it only weighs three pounds. Anyways..." He placed it next to the dog and knelt down next to it. "Okay, Sullivan, you'll be going with Maria here, okay?" I think he did a double take. "Why'd I call you that name?" He shook his head. "Never mind." Standing up and looking at Maria, he added, "Okay, he's all yours, okay, miss?"

"Alright," Maria said. "Ciao."

"_Adiós._"

Roland and I climbed into the back as Shirley soon started to drive off. I waved to Maria one last time, saying, "Bye, Maria. I'll see you later!"

As Roland settled down in the back, I joined him just as his stomach growled.

"Oh man, I forgot," I told him quickly. "We didn't get any food, did we?"

"It's fine," he said as he pulled out some rice, beans and flour. "Whatever we can make out of these, I can handle it. I'm just glad you had fun."

I smiled quickly. "Same here." I then remembered the cake I was holding. "Oh, here," I placed the plate on his lap, and he picked the piece up, broke off half of it, and offered me some.

"Want some?" he asked as he held it in front of me.

"Sure!" I grabbed it. "Thanks, Roland-kun!" I started eating my share.

"Don't know why you decided to start calling me just 'Roland-kun' right now, but who cares?" He bit into his cake as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Maria's POV_

As I watched Miss Lucchini and Mister Sage hop into the back of the truck and get driven off by their driver, I smiled as I waved goodbye to them.

I then looked at the Rottweiler Mister Sage had left with me, who was looking at the truck with a sad look on his face.

"Aw," I said to it as I looked at the truck. "You miss Mister Sage, huh?"

The dog looked at me with puppy eyes.

I'm surprised that he hasn't tried to attack me. Then again, maybe he knows that I'm friendly.

"I think Mister Sage's right," I told him. "Even if he could, he can't have you on the base without some sort of permission..." I then stopped and thought of something. "Unless..." I turned around and looked at my escorts, who still had the injuries from Miss Lucchini's attacks. "Do you know a pet shop around town?"

"Well," one of them started. "There's Mister Ferguson's pet shop. I think he had a Rottweiler in there, but I'm not sure if tis one's from there."

"Can you take me there?"

"Sure thing, miss," the second one replied. "But why?"

"I want to stop by there and get a few things ready." I started to walk toward the car before I stopped and turned to look at the dog. "Well...Sullivan." It wasn't the name he had since Mister Sage was wondering why he called him that earlier, but it was the first name that came to mind. "Come on. You'll see Mister Sage soon, I promise."

The dog barked happily and wagged its tail as it followed me.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

Well, at least it was a day without any Neuroi. I hope.

Anyways, I guess after spending the whole day with Maria, Francesca blew our entire food budget and was subsequently forced to scrub the runway. While I was a little irked, I was really glad that she had fun. even if it did cost us perhaps our lives as far as food went.

Luckily, the food I managed to buy at least fed us for the day.

Now, Yoshika was busy handing out gifts. The radio Minna had asked for was sitting inside the briefing room as everyone but Francesca was inside. Eila had gotten a pillow while Sanya got some...sort of instrument? I couldn't tell. Perrine received the flower seeds that Lynette had decided to ask for, and Gertrud got the shirt for Chris. A bag of assorted parts for Draco (I think he said he wanted them for his Striker Unit).

Oh, and definitely the alarm clock. Poor Erica.

Which left that gift Minna had told Charlotte about for me.

"Hey there, Roland-kun!" Yoshika said as she came up with something behind her back.

"Hey, Yosh," I told her before taking interest in what was behind her back. "Erm, what's behind your back?"

"It's a surprise." She was smiling widely.

A surprise? For me?

"Here you go," Yoshika said as she handed me a small box.

Grabbing it and opening it up, I saw that it had a tie inside it. Most likely for my military outfit when I felt like wearing it. It was red, which seemed to match the uniform's shirt and pants.

"Uh, thanks," I said. A tie wasn't that bad. I mean, it could be worse.

"Commander Minna wanted to get you something, so she asked us to get you a gift. We weren't really sure, but we went with a tie. I hope you like it."

"It's nice. Thanks. Really." I smiled. It's the thought that counts, right?

"Everybody ready?" Minna asked as she turned on the radio the girls had bought.

"**_We interrupt this program to bring you a live broadcast_**," the announcer on the radio station said.

Huh. I've never really listened to a news network of sorts on a radio. At least, not voluntarily.

"_**Maria, the Duchess of the duchy of Romagna, made her first official appearance today,**_" the radio continued.

That's nice...

...

...

...Hold it!

Maria?

We're not talking about the same Maria that I just met yesterday when she was with Francesca, are we?

"_**She has asked to address the nation on a very important subject,**_" the announcer added.

I blinked. Well, if this was going to have her voice then I better use it to confirm or deny my suspicions.

"_**Yesterday,**_" Maria's voice began, "_**a terrible Neuroi attack was launched on Roma that threatened the lives of our citizens.**_"

My eyes widened in horror.

Holy crap! If the girl who was with Francesca yesterday was the duchess...

"_**However,**_" Maria continued, "_**the Neuroi was repelled thanks to the actions and bravery of a small but mighty Witch and her male teammate. I've learned so much from them. She risked everything to protect the lives of her loved ones and to guard the security of Romagna, and he has served along his team in order to protect them. We have the strength within us if we just have the heart. That's why I vow to do my part. My love for all of you gives me the strength to keep us safe. Thank you for your heart and inspiration, my dear friend Miss Francesca Lucchini, and thank you for sticking with your friends, Mister Roland Sage.**_"

As Charlotte and Yoshika gasped, I found myself shaking my head.

"_What?!_" they asked at once.

"_**And so,**_" Maria continued, "_**it is with sincere gratitude that I send a humble token of my appreciation to the Five Hundred and First Joint Fighter Wing squad as well as one for Mister Sage. Age Quod Agis.**_"

"What does that mean?" Mio asked.

She actually thanked me? She doesn't even know my secret, and yet she's thankful for what I told her?

Without thinking, I ran out the door and hightailed it to the runway. When I arrived, I found myself surprised: apparently Maria had decided to airdrop food supplies to us. Unfortunately for Francesca, she was stuck in the middle of it when it landed.

"I'm stuck," she moaned.

I blinked as I looked at the passing plane.

"Thanks, Maria..." I said to myself before getting to work on removing the boxes from Francesca so she could move again.

I thought about the fact that the others might ask about the meaning of what she said, but that would have to wait.

Anyways, we got food.

I think we'll be eating good tonight! Most definitely!

As I started removing a box from the pile with my gyrokinesis, I could hear panting from within it. I placed it down gently and, panting slightly, grabbed my crowbar, which was hanging in its usual spot on me for the day.

Hey, I wasn't exactly expecting boxes to be air-dropped onto the base, okay?

I wedged it inside a crack along the edge and pulled at it.

"What's going on?" Yoshika asked as the girls and Draco came out to see why I had run out of the area (I think). She then noticed the boxes. "Oh. Supplies?"

"Yep," I told her as I pulled at the crowbar some more. I heard the box open up slightly. "I think from the duchess herself."

Charlotte walked over to the box I was working on opening and looked on it for something that said who it was from.

"There's a tag here saying 'To Roland Sage. From Maria, Duchess'." I think she took a closer look at it. "It also says something about 'live package'."

I blinked as I looked at the buxom Witch and asked, "Live package?" What exactly did she send me that was alive?

...

...Oh...no...

I pulled the side down to the ground and looked into the darkness within the box.

What greeted me next was something I was genuinely surprised at: the Rottweiler from yesterday jumped out at me, pushing me to the ground and pinning me there. It still looked the same, but now it was sporting a black collar with...a name tag?

"What are you doing here?" I asked the dog. While I was laying there, I looked at the name tag and made a name: Sullivan "Sully".

Maria actually named him Sullivan? And she really put "Sully" in quotes on the tag?

As if to say, "I missed you so much!", Sullivan (officially his new name) began licking the hell out of my face.

"Okay, okay," I said as I was trying to get him to stop. "I miss you too, Sully. Now get off please."

"Hmm?" I heard Mio say as she looked at the display I was in. "There's a piece of paper behind his neck." She walked over to the dog, but a quick growl (and a quick correction telling him that I trusted her and that he should too) made her step back slightly.

"It's fine, major," I said. "I'd get it but I'm pinned for the moment."

"Understood." Mio walked over to the dog and, reaching down gently, pulled the paper in question from behind his neck. She then opened it and read it. "To Mister Roland Sage's commander, I do apologize if this dog, named Sullivan, gave you and Mister Sage a surprise when you went through the boxes. However, there's a reason why he's here. Mister Sage had received him as a gift from Mister Ferguson, a man who ran a pet shop, because of his services and because he wanted to ensure that Sullivan had a home to go to. Mister Sage didn't want to bring him back because he didn't want to get in trouble for it, so he asked me to keep an eye on him. However, Sullivan looked sad when he left, so I decided to send him to the base with the supplies. With the food for the base, there is a box with about twenty pounds of dog biscuits. This is for the dog. Also, I do wish you consider keeping him on the base. I vouch for Mister Sage to take care of Sullivan on the base. Thanks for reading this, and I hope I see you in person next time. Signed, Duchess Maria." Mio then looked at me with lowered eyebrows. Well, maybe one, but even then that's not a good sign. "You got a dog and didn't tell us about it?"

"Hey," I said quickly. "I was hoping that Maria-sorry, Duchess Maria would take care of him."

Minna walked over to us and looked at me.

"Well," she said. "While I'm not too sure about him being on the base, the fact stands that the dog is here now. I don't think he's going to want to leave Roland again."

Mio looked at her in shock and said, "You can't be considering..."

"Roland, you can keep Sully on the base. But..." She held up a finger. "While you're now his owner, we want to help you take care of your new pet. That seem fair?"

Anything to avoid dying right now. Literally or figuratively.

"Sure, whatever you say, commander," I told her quickly. I think my arms are falling asleep now.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland: Next time on **Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return**-_

_Eila: Sanya's hugging the pillow I just bought._

_Roland: Okay, I'm going to assume that because you cut me off that this is going to be one of those episodes with Sanya, huh?_

_Eila: It's nestled up against her chest..._

_Roland: *sigh* I guess she's off in her own fantasy. Well, that just about wraps this up._

_Sanya: Hold on, Roland? How well can you handle arguments?_

_Roland: Huh? Am I supposed to know about that coming up?_

_Sanya: It's just a thought. Next time: **Higher than the Sky**._

_Roland: Now we'd better get Eila to stop talking about pillows and hugging and other things. Not good for previews, I think._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**There you have it: the next chapter is up.**

**Please read and respond, and I'll be seeing you guys in the next chapter.**

**Thanks.**


	10. Higher Than the Sky (Part 1)

**Hello, and welcome back to the story.**

**Before we get going on the new arc, let me take the time to answer some of the reviews:**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Thanks for the review.**

_Dragonman75_**: With Roland's luck, he's most likely going to have more than his adventures to worry about. Good thing he didn't get hurt by Gertrud and Mio concerning the dog.**

_Adam95F_**: Given that Roland's probably not going to try getting the dog to fuse with him anytime soon (he has no idea how to even do that), Sullivan or "Sully" (your pick) will be living on the base. It'll be interesting to see how readers react to him.**

_chimeraguard_**: Roland's aura-reading would be helpful for this arc, I agree. You'll have to see about how he reacts to the conversation Sanya and Eila have. As for Minna...you do have an interesting point there. Losing one boy in her life isn't exactly something that can be easily ignored (Chapters 13 & 14 back in** _Strike Heroes_** might be the best example of this****), and with the fact that she is indeed growing more attached to Roland she'd probably really lose it should something happen to Roland that takes him out of her life forever.**

**Wow, that was a mouthful...**

**Okay, now that the responses are done with, let's get going on the next arc...**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 10: Higher Than the Sky (Part 1)**

_**Dear Letter,**_

_**It's me again. Haven't really had a chance to write anything down lately. I've been busy with training and other shenanigans.**_

_**So where should I start?**_

_**Well, I guess I should start with a new addition to the base: a dog.**_

_**A Rottweiler, to be more precise.**_

_**It seems strange that I'm presented with a dog, like I'm supposed to make him become a familiar.**_

_**I don't know, but I somehow don't see myself wanting to undergo that, even if I had an inkling of a clue about how to go about it. I tried getting myself to ask about how one was supposed to go about with doing it, but for some reason...**_

_**Let's just say that I think I'm drawing too many conclusions right now.**_

_**Anyways, the commander had allowed me to keep the dog on the base...on the condition that they (the girls [and Draco, since he was a member of the Strike Witches currently], mind you) helped me care for it. No idea how it's supposed to work, but I guess it's like the family pet (though the "family members" aren't related to each other).**_

_**Plus, I met another girl, who happens to be a duchess. A **duchess_**_. Makes me wonder if I'm going to meet some other people._**

**_Hmm...I met Ursula last time, I met Maria this time..._**

**_Am I going to meet another girl during the next set of events I get involved in?_**

**_...Nah, that's too predictable...right?_**

_**Now, anything else?**_

_**Oh, almost forgot: if you recall, I have no training in any language other than English/Britannian and Spanish/Hispanian(?), and I told Sanya that when she tried using the Orussian language. As a result, she started helping me work on learning Orussian.**_

_**Then Eila jumped in (due to Sanya hanging around me) and decided to teach me...whatever Suomos's language was called (I'll call it Suomosian until I can get a better name for it). Totally understandable, if only because she's got feelings for Sanya and probably wants to make sure I didn't do anything to make her fall for me (big chance; I don't really see myself being one of those guys that like young girls).**_

_**Of course, it didn't stop there, oh no. If you know me well enough, I end up in very odd situations, and this was going to get odder (for me, at least).**_

_**So imagine my surprise (not) when Yoshika and Mio found out about my language lessons and chose to help me with learning Japanese/Fuso as well as trying to teach me their culture.**_

_**Then that snowballed into Perrine and Lynette wanting to teach me more about etiquette, with the Gallian Witch willing to teach me French/Gallian.**_

_**And Francesca wanting to try her hands at teaching me to speak Italian/Romagnan.**_

_**And let's not forget the Karlsland trio, who decided to train me in how to speak German/Karlslandian.**_

_**One, two, three, four...**_

_**Oh no...**_

_**I'm going to turn into a octo-lingual speaker! I can't remember all that! Add in culture, and I'm left going "AH!"**_

_**So anyways, enough about me and my language issues. What about you?**_

_**Signed, **_**Roland Sage.**

XXXXXXXXXX

Okay, there's only one thing I can think of as I watched Eila simply fly between the lasers fired from a Neuroi as she struck back, and I think Yoshika summed it up pretty well when we approached her, the little Fuso Witch having a shield over her head while I held my BAR in my hands.

"You know, Eila," Yoshika said, "that's dangerous. You should use your shield."

Well, even without a shield, Eila's magic was prediction, right? I mean, hard to be hit when you can foresee each attack aimed at you.

"What?" Eila asked. "Haven't you been paying any attention?" The Suomos Witch flew off.

"Huh?" Yoshika said with a hint of confusion.

Eila flew past more lasers and, after firing off a few round, struck a sort of victory pose as the approaching Neuroi bits exploded into nothing around us. "This is how I do things."

"Whoa!" Yoshika said in awe. "Big whoa!"

"That was surprisingly easy," I couldn't help but say. I mean, the Neuroi should be more of a threat than this.

"You think we got them all?" Charlotte asked.

"Yep," Gertrud replied. "Though like Sage said, it looked like it was surprisingly easy."

Thanks for agreeing with me, Gertrud. I can add that to my list of "Things Witches Have Agreed With Me On". Though, because it's a new list right now, I'd say that her statement was the first (and currently only) item on the list. I should go through my letters and remember if anyone else agreed with me on other matters...

"We've taken care of all the little ones," Mio said as she was using her magic eye to scan for any signs of Neuroi activity. "But I haven't been able to find their main controller yet."

Our battle party consisted of everyone but Sanya, Draco, Minna, and Erica.

"Do you think it's still active?" Perrine asked.

"Are you sure we didn't blow that sucker up already?" Francesca asked.

"If we did," I stated as I reloaded my BAR, "then I doubt we would have dealt with little man-hacks for Neuroi." I then thought of a better comparison. "Well, Witch-hacks."

"Reference to anything?" Gertrud asked me. I think she was referring to the "man-hacks" comment.

"Yeah. I'll tell you later." You wouldn't get it right now...

"Don't the small ones disappear when the main one is destroyed?" Lynette asked.

I flipped the safety on and slung the BAR across my shoulders, taking care to not have my finger in the trigger well. "My point exactly." This is why we do well in the questioning department. It's all thanks to Q&A discussions from people like Lynette. We may get results and ensure that everyone makes it through a mission alright, but when it comes to information we're the ones the little Witches look up to for the thoughts of the day.

...Okay, what the hell am I saying right now?

Mio gasped as she turned around and looked at the mountain. As we looked along with her, we gasped.

Off in the distance, we could see a long pillar of Neuroi-made material jutting out of the ground and going into the sky.

"What is that?" Gertrud asked.

"Looks like a spire," I said. Citadel from _Half-Life 2_, anyone?

"Look, it goes straight up through the clouds!" Perrine noted.

"Creepy," Francesca added.

"No way, don't tell me that's the main one," Charlotte added.

I think it is...

"If it is, then we have to destroy it before it's too late," I said as I got ready to fly toward it. However, Mio held out her left arm, stopping me.

"Wait here," Mio said as she flew ahead. "I'll be right back."

"Major!" Perrine tried.

Mio went higher in the air, and we waited for her to return with something concerning the thing we were seeing in front of us.

It took about a minute before she gave the following orders: "Temporary retreat. We're returning to base."

"But we haven't eliminated the enemy yet," Perrine said quickly.

"We'll rethink our plan once we've returned. Everyone has been out for too long today. We need to head back before we run out of magic energy."

"Understood," I replied.

XXXXXXXXXX

As we flew back to the base, I couldn't help but notice Eila cradling something in her hands. I wasn't sure what it was, but whatever it could be was making the Suomos Witch grin.

"Hey, what's that?" Yoshika asked as she approached Eila.

"What's what?" Eila asked as she moved aside a little.

Yoshika flew in closer again as Eila kept some distance, going back to close range for the two of them. "Is it a twig or something?" For the next thirty seconds or so it was like watching a dance in the air as Eila maneuvered herself to avoid Yoshika.

"Why are you annoying me?" Eila held the "twig" away from Yoshika as she waved it around vertically for a few seconds. "It's nothing!"

"Where did you find it?" Eila flew around Yoshika from above, and when the little Fuso Witch tried catching up to her the Suomos Witch flew downward as she paid attention to Yoshika. "Why do you even have it to begin with?"

"Why do you care? Leave me alone." Yoshika wasn't giving up so easily. I think she was really curious about the "twig".

"Well, can I at least see it? I'm just curious, that's all." The little Fuso Witch then cut the "dance" short. "Good grief, you fly so fast. How do you move around so quickly like that?"

"Easy. I just use my magic to see the future. I have the ability to predict everyone's movements, be it enemy..." Eila flew under Yoshika and came up on the other side. "...or even you." She repeated the process, going above instead. "If you wanna be like me, you need to find some speed." She did the entire circle once again. "You really haven't paying attention, have you? I don't mean to brag or anything, but I've never even used a shield during combat. You ask me, people who rely on those things will always be second-great."

"Don't say that!" Yoshika flew toward Eila, making a short "dance" sequence between the two. "People keep telling me my shield is my only redeeming quality."

_Only redeeming quality?_ I thought to myself. I don't want to know how well she considers her...assets. Considering that she probably tried to compare her pair to Charlotte's on our first day on the team, I really don't want to know.

Anyways, Eila's magic sounds like it could be a slogan or something.

Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen: reading the movements of Neuroi, Yoshikas, and Rolands for...

What, five years?

I don't know when exactly a Witch discovers that she's a Witch at all.

You know, how old _is_ Eila? If I had to place a finger on it, I'd say about...sixteen? This is assuming she was fifteen when I last saw her before leaving the team the first time.

Note to self: figure out Eila's age.

"You know you shouldn't say things like that, Eila," Sanya's voice said in our ears.

This startled the two girls. When we looked ahead of us, we could see the Orussian Witch using her Striker Unit to fly towards our group. She was holding her rocket launcher in her right hand.

"Welcome back, everyone," Sanya said before flying past us.

"Thank you," Eila said.

"Hey, Sanya," Yoshika added.

"It's good to be back too," I included.

Soon, I watched as Sanya flew next to Eila.

"I guess you have night patrol now, huh?" Yoshika said as she looked at the Orussian Witch.

"That's right," Sanya replied with a nod.

Maybe I could help out with it...you know, give Sanya some company. Once I get clearance from Eila, of course. I'd like to avoid getting sore cheeks or splitting headaches right now, thank you.

Erm...not exactly concerned about the headaches as far as Eila is concerned, but given that Perrine (and I guess Gertrud to a degree) seems to have done that so far I'd best be careful unless I find a reason for the Suomos Witch to hurt me.

"Hold on, Sanya," Mio told her. "There's no need tonight. Return to base with us."

The three of them gasped as Sanya replied with, "Yes, ma'am."

I don't think I need to know why she's ordering Sanya to forgo night patrol for the night...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

"Central Command contacted us earlier," Commander Minna said as she poured some tea. She was seated on a couch across from me, a small rectangular table set between us. I was on another couch, across from her as well.

"About this latest Neuroi incident?" I asked her as I held my cup close to my lips and looked at her. It had to be...

"That's right. Romagna's navy and air force want in. They're going to take over from here." I looked at her with some surprise. "Apparently, they want results, too." She took a quick sip of her tea.

I put my cup down and replied with, "I guess we'll sit back and see how it goes. It'd be nice if Sage knew what was going to happen."

"Well, even for him it'd get tiring having to answer our every concern. Let's just hope he's going to be okay with this."

I nodded. After what Maloney tried doing, he might have second thoughts about anyone but us doing this sort of thing. "Well, I think as long as nobody's trying to disband us then Sage won't have too much objection."

Commander Minna nodded. "True."

"Speaking of Sage..." I thought about something that's been bugging me for a while. "Are you feeling alright about him?"

"Huh?" the commander looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Captain Barkhorn said something about you saying his name in your sleep. She didn't tell me anything else, but if it's Sage then..." I shook my head. I'm not really sure about her feelings towards the Neuroi Witch, and even if I was that gave me no right to persuade her decision. "Well, just hope that he doesn't go away again. He's a good soldier and a brave friend."

"That he is." Commander Minna gave off a slight smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

As Lynette, Yoshika, and I watched Sanya's weapon being loaded onto the little device for storing weapons behind her Striker Unit, the little Fuso Witch had to comment on the weight.

"It must be hard for you to carry something this big around all the time, huh, Sanya?" the little Fuso Witch asked.

The Orussian Witch shook her head as she held the pillow Yoshika had picked up from our trip to Roma. "No, I'm used to it."

"She needs to carry it because she gets solo night patrol duty every day," Eila stated. "If anything were to happen, she could easily hold her own in a fight with this Fliegerhammer."

"Really?" Lynette asked now. "That's so incredible, Sanya."

"You know," Yoshika suggested. "I bet it's better when someone's with you. That way, it doesn't get so lonely."

Sanya blushed slightly as she added, "That's true."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Eila said as she remembered something. She reached inside one of her breast pockets and pulled out the object Yoshika had been curious about. "Ta-da!"

I took a quick look at it. It looked like something from a fir tree, but I don't know if fir trees were growing in Romagna.

"Hey, the twig!" Yoshika shouted as she recognized it.

"From a needle-leaf tree, maybe?" Lynette asked.

"Fir?" I tried as Eila showed it to Sanya.

"Here you go," the Suomos Witch said. "For you."

"You're giving her a twig?" Yoshika asked.

Sanya looked at the twig and was happy.

"Wow," she said cheerfully. "Thank you so much, Eila." She took the twig and held it in front of her face.

"We flew near a Cyprus forest today, so I couldn't resist getting it," Eila explained. "The forest looked a little like Orussia in the winter. You would have loved it."

"There were a lot of Cyprus trees by the house I used to live in."

"How sweet," Lynette said.

"That's so nice of her!" Yoshika added.

"Wish I could see something from my home," I said with a touch of sadness. From my memory, California had been decimated before I signed up for the military and became a Strike Witch.

The little Fuso Witch gave off a soft gasp.

"I'm sorry," Yoshika tried to apologize.

I sighed again. "It's not your fault, Yosh. It's just wishful thinking, that's all."

"Must be hard knowing that you'd never have a home to go back to," Lynette said. Looking a little uncertain that she said the right thing, she added hastily, "At least, not here, I mean."

"Come on," Yoshika added. "We're like family, right?"

I sighed again. I already figured that out down at Anna's. "I know that, but..."

"You know," Eila pointed out, "you're probably one of the easier people to figure out when they're having problems."

I shook my head. I'm not sure if it's a problem, but I really did want to see them again at some point. I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas with them last year; how many more events do I have to miss before I can return (if I can go back at all)?

"I'm not sure, it's probably more of a thought than a problem..." I said quickly.

"Well, it could be true," Yoshika added. "Right?"

Before I could say anything, Francesca ran into the hangar, panting.

"What is it, Fran?" I asked the Romagnan Witch. Whatever she was running in here for, I hope it was important.

"The major's calling a quick meeting!" Francesca told us.

"About the Neuroi?" Yoshika asked.

"I guess so," I replied as I put my hands behind my head.

This was probably going to be interesting...

XXXXXXXXXX

In the meeting, we watched as Mio stood next to a screen on the wall that flashed up a few pictures of Neuroi spire like it was a slideshow, a yardstick in her hands.

Uh, I hope it was a yardstick...

CLICK!

One picture was the spire leaning slightly to the left.

CLICK!

Another was the spire again, this time leaning in the opposite direction.

CLICK!

A third one was a rather far-off shot of it, standing perfectly straight.

"These photos were taken by Air Force recon," the major told us.

"It kinda looks like a scratch in the film, doesn't it?" Gertrud asked. She was seated on a couch with Perrine.

"Kinda does, actually," I confirmed. I was standing next to Sanya, who was seated at the piano bench with Eila (I am not going to go into detail about how the piano got there in the first place, so don't ask). Our canine newcomer, Sullivan, was sitting on the ground next to me. He was panting, like a dog usually does.

"You're looking at the Neuroi that appeared earlier today," Mio continued. "This is a complete shot of it. Its estimated length is over thirty thousand meters."

"Thirty thousand?" Gertrud asked, surprised. "You mean it's thirty kilometers tall?"

Um...thirty thousand divided by a thousand (one kilometer for every thousand meters)...remove three zeroes from each number...three...zero...

Yep. Thirty kilometers.

That's rather high up, isn't it?

"That's a lot," Yoshika said as she and Lynette sat on another couch. "Compared to Mount Fuji, it's like..." She started counting off on her fingers.

Soon, Minna (who was standing next to the projector that was handling the slideshow) clicked in the next picture, which was a map of Romagna (it looked almost exactly like Italy).

"It seems to be headed for Roma at approximately ten kilometers per hour," Mio informed us. "It's not traveling fast. The biggest problem we'll have is the location of its core." She pointed at the tip of the spire with the free end of the yardstick. "Right here."

"The very top?" Gertrud asked, surprised.

"Yes. I actually saw it up there with my own eye."

Um, don't you mean...oh. Never mind then.

"But the highest our Striker Units can go is only ten thousand meters," Perrine replied. "And even that's pushing it. The same can be said for Roland's Striker Unit if it's like ours."

Which it should be. The only real difference is that I don't need to hop into it; I just form it around my legs.

Now, ten thousand divided by a thousand again...about ten kilometers...now divide by thirty kilometers...remove a zero each...

"That's only a third of the distance!" I shouted in shock. We'd need three Striker Units starting at sea level to reach ten thousand meters and add their distances together to even reach that number! One Striker Unit, reach three times its maximum height? How do we solve that issue?

"Yes," Mio said. "That's why our plan will utilize these."

CLICK!

The next photo shown to us was some sort of design for...

Missiles?

"Rocket boosters," the major clarified.

I blinked.

"Will those let us fly all the way up to where the core is?" Yoshika asked Mio.

Rocket...boosters?

Hmm...

_Ah! _I've got it!

"Of course!" I said in realization. "Rockets! Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

Everyone looked at me.

"Can you explain what's on your mind for those of us who have no idea what you're thinking of?" Erica asked.

"When I was younger, my family..." I hesitated before shaking my head. "My family used to fire off model rockets we bought at a store. I remember watching the rockets as they took off into the air, being propelled by a small rocket engine that looked like a tiny ground bloom. It's going to be the same principles, but with real rockets this time." We're actually messing with the big guns in rocket science. Only we're using missiles to achieve the effect.

"Even if we could," Gertrud replied, "I seriously doubt it'd be as simple as that."

"You're right," Minna said suddenly. "The boosters are very powerful, but they can only fly for a short period of time because of the enormous amounts of energy they consume."

"Then why don't we carry someone part of the way?" Charlotte tried suggesting. She was on a third couch that had Francesca and Erica, the former having her head on the Liberion Witch's lap as she lied there. Draco was leaning over the back of the couch, his arms resting there. "They can just boost up from there, right?"

"Yes, exactly," Mio replied.

"Still, thirty thousand meters high is gonna be rough. There's not even any air up there."

"_What?!_" Francesca shouted in surprise. "Why isn't there air?"

"The higher you go, the less pressure there is to help your lungs," Draco tried. "Down here, we have about thirty inches of mercury at sea level. The higher you go, the less pressure there is. The opposite is true if we went underwater."

"You won't be able to hear anyone there then, either," Erica added.

"Oh, yeah," Charlotte added. "That's true, too."

"Without air, it's essentially a vacuum," I added. "No sounds can be heard."

"_What?!_" Francesca shouted again. "You can't hear anything?"

I think we need to sit Francesca down and try teaching her some science. Just a thought, though.

"We're talking about an ultra-high altitude," Minna said. "One that far surpasses normal human limits. It's completely unknown."

It's not completely unknown around the twenty-first century. Hell, if I think about it the space race would probably occur in about twenty years. If this universe goes the same way as my universe (in relation to these girls and Draco) despite the Neuroi being here, that is.

"Yes," Mio added, "but there's nothing Witches can't do. Even ask Sage, his history can speak for itself." Technically, I'm not _supposed_ to be a Witch, so why are you using me as an example? "He's risked everything just to keep us safe. His secret, his body, his mind, everything."

Okay, secret...I had no real choice. I blabbed about it to Maloney while I was trying to hurt him. My body was due to the fact that I had to do _something _while I was here.

As for my mind, I think you're the main reason why it was risked in the first place.

"We should all be okay," Mio continued as the lights turned back on. "Now, we're going to need someone with instantaneous wide-range attack capabilities." She then looked at Sanya, Eila, and me (apparently they had some...orange juice? Hard to tell: the juice looked orange, and I doubt that they were both over the drinking age for alcohol). The Suomos Witch was still drinking hers while the Orussian Witch's sat in her lap, held softly by her hands. "Sanya, I would like you to attack the core."

Sanya was surprised. A lot.

"_Eh__?_" Eila asked in shock as she stopped drinking her juice quickly.

Now that I think about it...I think everyone had a glass of orange juice in here. I'll have to find one that wasn't being used later.

"An attack with you Fliegerhammer launcher will be indispensable for this particular mission," Mio continued.

I watched Eila wave her hand in the air quickly as she said, "Hey, hey, hey! I think I should go with her!"

"Oh, do you, Eila? I have a question: how many times have you raised a shield in battle?"

"Shield? Yeah, uh, I don't need to brag or anything, but-"

"Shield, huh?" I asked as I walked ahead a little. "If that's the case, then..." I curled my right index finger around my chin and gave it some thought before I immediately blanched. If they needed someone who can put up a shield, then that only really left Perrine and Yoshika as the main contenders. Seeing as Yoshika was on that list, then meant only one thing. "I'll go sit in a corner and wait this one out..." I walked over to the corner closest to Mio and sat down with my back to it, my arms wrapped around my knees as I buried my face to avoid the others seeing it.

If Yoshika goes, then that meant that I was probably going to go as well...

"What's up with him?" I heard Draco ask as I also heard Sullivan walk over to me and nudge me with his nose.

"Who knows?" Gertrud told him.

"Anyways," Eila continued. "I've never used a shield in actual combat."

"So you can't do it, then?" Mio asked.

"Yes, I can't do it then." Eila then realized what she said. "Uh!"

"Then in this case," Minna said in response, "you're just not up to it."

"What?" I turned on my aura powers and watched Eila's aura stand up. "But why not?"

"As Roland had tried pointing out before going into the corner, besides using boosters for this plan surviving the harsh environment will also consume an enormous amount of magic energy. And that's all before the attack even takes place."

"Like Roland-kun's shield?" Yoshika asked.

No fair, picking on the one who's sulking in a corner here!

"It's like that," Mio informed us. "Sage's shield is able to block things, but for some reason he's unable to maintain it beyond a few seconds. Enemy fire that lasts for long periods of time would inevitably reach him when he has to power down the shield due to lack of control."

Is it my fault?

"Anyways, what Commander Minna said would occur, which will unfortunately leave Sanya unable to protect herself," Mio continued. "She'll need someone to serve as her shield and keep her out of harm's way."

"Okay," Eila said after Mio explained the idea. "I can do that. It's not like I can't create a shield."

"But you've never actually used one in actual combat."

"Right. I knew you'd understand."

She _does_ know that, if she's trying to be paired up with Sanya for this mission, agreeing with someone without grasping what they're saying is not the way to go, right?

"Means you can't do it," Mio concluded.

Eila was confused as she asked, "Huh?"

"What she's saying is that without any experience making a shield there's no telling whether you'll be able to protect Sanya when the time comes," I said, though it was a little muffled due to my current position.

"Miyafuji," Mio said finally. "You'll protect her."

I think she was still trying to calculate the difference in height between Mount Fuji and the Neuroi we were trying to eliminate, as she sounded surprised when she replied with, "Oh, yes, ma'am." She then tried thinking about why Mio was picking her for this task.

"You have the most powerful shield here and are the best suited for this task."

"...Yes, ma'am."

I lifted my head in time to watched as Yoshika looked into the eyes of a rather angry Eila, who had somehow moved across the room for the sole purpose of wanting to tear her limbs apart or something. This, no surprise, made Yoshika give off a cry of fear.

"Sage, I want you to go with them as well," Mio added as she looked at me.

Turning my powers off, Sullivan and I looked at the major as I asked, "But why me? I mean, don't you think that after what you said about my shield being the worst ever I'd be the least likely candidate for this sort of thing?"

"Though I didn't say you had the worst shield ever, I see your concerns. However, you're the only one who's had luck on his side. In the event something goes wrong, I need you to use your hidden powers and protect them."

"She's right, Roland," Minna included into the discussion. "Your other powers can help protect them."

"But I've never really tried protecting other Witches with the Neuroi Mode's barrier before! What if I can't?"

"That part is up to you, Sage," Mio replied.

Wait, does that mean that if I can't do it then I might have to watch Sanya and Yoshika get killed up there?

I growled in anger and replied with, "If you think I'd let those two die up there, you've got another thing coming! I'd rather shove them out of the way before I watch either one die!"

Mio sighed. "If you feel that it's the best thing to do then I can't blame you."

"Anyways," Minna concluded, "that's it for now. We need to get a few things ready, so take some time to relax before the mission, alright, Roland?"

"Yeah," I said without the growl, though I was still a little tense.

"Good. You're all dismissed."

XXXXXXXXXX

I sighed as I sat outside on the edge of the runway later on in the night.

Who'd have thought I would be forced to make a call like that? I promised to protect these girls, and I mean it!

Of course, I think Mio knows that too.

Ergh...I feel like I'm trying to obey the Three Laws of Robotics.

It's like...one: I shall not harm another being or allow them to come to harm; two: I shall follow orders given to me as long as it does not violate the first law; three: I mush protect my existence as long as it does not conflict with the first or second law.

Oh no...

I'm thinking of Isaac Asimov here, huh?

I sighed in distress. I might as well have a target painted to my back for all the good it'll do me...

"Hey, Sage?" I heard Gertrud's voice ask as I turned my head to look at her. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," I told her. "I'm just trying to calm down."

"Is it about what Major Sakamoto said?"

"...Yeah." Gertrud took a seat on my right side, and we looked at the water for a while.

"I see. I guess, if you want, we could..."

"We could...?"

"We could...talk for a while." Not too sure if she's actually talked to me on her own initiative before. Usually, she and I talked by way of me starting it.

"Sure." I smiled. "I've been meaning to ask: how's your little sister?"

"She's..." Gertrud shook her head a little. "I'm not sure about talking to you about it, but I guess that you and I probably trust each other enough to chat about trivial things."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her. "You consider your sister to be a part of 'trivial things'?"

"What?" Gertrud put her hands up in self-defense as she looked at me. "Not at all! I love my sister very much! It's just that not a whole lot of people ask me about her. I know the commander and Hartmann have, but you're the first one aside from them on this team to ask me that. I guess she's fine right now. The last time I saw her was a few months before we reformed the Strike Witches. She was asking me about what I had thought about the idea of protecting people. I remembered thinking that my answer sounded a little childish when I first told her, but after seeing what you've gone through I realized that I actually believed it."

I was intrigued. "And that is?"

"Ahem..." She turned her head away, and I think Gertrud blushed slightly before it cleared away. "I told her that there were still a handful of people that needed me. A handful that never gave up, no matter what was thrown at them. I also told her that there was one man who always tried doing what he thought was the right thing, and as a result we've come to trust him with our lives."

After hearing that, I was shocked. "That sounds...erm..."

"Stupid?"

"...Deep. Have you been dwelling on it for a while?" Now I think I was blushing: listening to Gertrud say that seemed to imply something. Could it?

"Well..." She turned her head as her eyes connected with mine, and we held our gaze like that for a while. I swear, her eyes looked a tiny bit...dreamy?

Hold on...is she...

"Aw, this is great," I heard Erica say as she finally decided to say something. "Trude and Roland like each other."

Our eye contact broke as we stared at the Karlsland ace, who was standing behind us with a cute smile.

"Hartmann!" Gertrud told her in an annoyed tone.

"Seriously?" I added, embarrassed.

"I know what I saw," Erica said. "You two were about to kiss, weren't you?"

"Was not!" Gertrud added quickly in her defense. "I don't have anything for him. Besides, it's his choice who he wants to be with, not anyone else's."

Oh good. At least I wasn't the one admitting it...wait, _my_ choice? Was that her way of saying she was available? Then again, I wasn't sure if the phrase "I don't have anything for him" (or its feminine counterpart, for that matter) was a flag for someone who's trying to admit their feelings for someone.

I'm still sorting out my feelings for Minna right now, dammit!

"Anyways," I said quickly as I stood on my feet. "Thanks for chatting with me, Gertrud...sorry, Barkhorn." I gave off a quick salute. "Anyways, I'll see you two in the morning." I then walked away from the runway as fast as my feet could take me before Erica tried something along the lines of "squeezing any more 'hints' of affection towards Gertrud".

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day marked a strange start to it.

It was after breakfast, and I was off to take a shower I had forgotten about last night when I accidentally bumped into Perrine and Eila.

Well, it was more like "I was tripped by Eila as she moved to avoid me hitting her, and I found my face falling into Perrine's chest, which scored maybe a hundred points and the grand prize of one very fierce backhand to the right cheek".

"Jeez," I said as I stood there, rubbing said cheek in question. "I get welcomed with a slap to the face? Is this the standard greeting for Gallian noble ladies, slapping guys in the cheeks?"

"It's not," Perrine told me. "That was for your little stunt just now."

I gritted my teeth. "It was a bloody f-" I then stopped and noticed the pairing. "Uh, what's going on with you two?" Why was Eila hanging around with Perrine?

"I'm taking Eila here to go do some barrier training. She's been bugging me about it for a while last night."

I looked at Eila. "I ain't asking..." I walked past them and started toward the showers. "Anyways, I need to go somewhere important, so good luck with training."

I felt someone grab the collar of my white shirt and yank me back as I heard Perrine's voice say, "Oh no, you're coming with us too."

"What? But why?"

"Your barrier isn't exactly the best out there, and since I'm training Eila here I might as well handle you too. Now let's go." She dragged me behind her as she and Eila went off to their own destination. "We need to get a few things before we get started..."

I tried struggling my way out of it, but I didn't want to rip my shirt. "I just want to take a shower, goddammit..."

Goodbye, chance to take a much-needed shower.

And hello, whatever Perrine's got in store for us.

XXXXXXXXXX

And now I'm floating in the air using my Striker Unit, the only thing standing between me and an armed-with-a-sniper-rifle Lynette was the Suomos Witch herself, Eila.

"Um..." Lynette started over our radios. "Are you guys really sure about this?"

Yeah, like hell! I'm here because I was dragged into this!

"Yes, we're sure," Perrine said as she floated behind me. "Just do it."

"Okay...but..." Lynette replied hesitantly.

"Now, Eila, it's up to you to pretend that I'm Sanya and protect me with your shield. Roland, I want you to do the same."

Why am I doing it at the same time as Eila? Isn't the one who hasn't even cast a shield before supposed to go first? I don't like this teaching method...

"Ugh..." Eila said as she looked behind her quickly. "I can't pretend you're Sanya."

I looked behind me and saw an irritated Perrine. Apparently, she wasn't too thrilled to hear that from one of her "pupils".

"You really, _really_ sure about this?" Lynette tried again.

"Just shut up and do it!" Perrine snapped.

"Right! Here goes..."

BOOM!

Eila made a sound as she moved to avoid the round as it whizzed right by my head. Perrine had to throw up a shield quickly or lose the contents of her head as she yelled in fear. Her scared tone eased down a little as the bullet rocked around the point of contact in her shield.

"Sorry!" Lynette shouted into the radio as the bullet fell down toward the water below. "Are you alright, Perrine? Roland?"

Wait, she fired already?

Wow, no reaction from me there. Maybe because I was looking away from Lynette?

"Why did you dodge the bullet like that?" Perrine asked Eila as she flew in close to try squeezing an explanation. "You're defeating the whole purpose of this training."

Hey, what about the other guy who nearly got to see the inside of his own head floating here?

"Totally my fault," Eila said as she looked away with a care-free look. "I just can't imagine why I'd protect you."

Perrine growled in annoyance. "Maybe it's because I'm the only person who's helping you right now." With a fusion of a huff and a scream, she added, "Lynne, we're waiting, so whenever you're ready shoot me again!"

"I don't wanna!" Lynette replied. Evidently, I don't think the Britannian Witch was liking her role right now...

"_JUST DO IT!_"

Jeez, you'd think she's the only one with a problem about losing her head here... "Right! Here goes..."

I turned to look at the sniper as she was aiming at us once more, and I blinked.

BOOM!

In fear, I flew back until I felt my back touch Perrine, and the Gallian Witch ended up protecting us both as Eila simply dodged the bullet again.

BOOM!

Again, she dodged it, forcing Perrine to keep her shield up to avoid eating lead.

BOOM!

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Perrine shouted. "Stop dodging and use your shield!"

"Please, can we stop?" Lynette asked. "I don't like this at all!"

"You girls are psychotic!" I yelled. "I want out!"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Gertrud's POV_

"You know," Hartmann said as she and I were watching Eila's (and Sage's, I suppose) training happen in the air. My blond-haired comrade had her elbows on the ledge, her head resting in her hands as she watched. "I so understand where Eila's coming from."

"Yeah," I added without even looking at her. "I couldn't imagine protecting her either."

We could see sparks appear in the sky, most likely where the bullets Bishop was firing at the trio were colliding with Perrine's shield. No idea where Sage was at the moment.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" we heard Perrine shout through the radio, "Stop dodging and use your shield!"

"Please, can we stop?" Lynette asked. She didn't sound like she was enjoying this at all, especially considering that she nearly shot Sage's head off. "I don't like this at all!"

"You girls are psychotic!" Sage's voice finally yelled in pure fear. "I want out!"

I sighed.

He's able to handle big Neuroi coming at us, but he's scared of a Witch firing shots at him?

Well, in his defense I'd be afraid about Bishop shooting at me as well.

"Poor Roland..." Erica said as she sighed.

"Agreed," I added.

It's strange how this man, the one who helped convince me that dying wasn't the way to go, the one who could handle being attacked by Neuroi...was the same man who was unable to stand being shot at by Bishop.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

About twenty minutes later, I was lying on the ground (back first) in the hangar, my Striker Unit deactivated as I was trying to recover from all the close encounters with death from Perrine's attempt to train two of us on using shields.

"My word," Perrine said as she, Lynette, and Eila finished getting out of their Striker Units. "You've handled a lot worse. What's wrong with being shot at by Lynne?"

"What's wrong with being shot at by Lynne?" I asked slowly and forcefully as I sat up. "_What's wrong with it?!_"

"It's not like you were doing anything to help out."

I was soon on my feet, a slight charge of anger in my body as I walked up to Perrine. "Ergh, it's not exactly very pleasant to get shot at by the Neuroi." I then pointed a finger at Lynette. "And I certainly didn't sign up for this so that my last day on this planet was the sight of a cute girl like Lynne holding a sniper rifle and aiming it at me in any way, shape, or form!"

"Jeez, calm down, Roland. Be glad you're still around."

I pointed my finger at the Gallian Witch. "Yeah, no thanks to you!"

"Um, guys?" Lynette tried asking.

"Not right now, Lynne," Perrine told her quickly. "I was trying to help Eila out, and she was unable to even protect me!"

"Not to be mean or anything, but your attitude isn't really something most people would consider protecting you for," I added. "Maybe if you lightened up more..."

"Guys?" Lynette tried again.

"What?" the Gallian Witch and I asked the Britannian Witch at the same time. "Why are you interrupting us, Lynne?"

"I think Eila left."

I looked around and noticed that there were no signs of the Suomos Witch in the hangar.

Huh, where did she go?

"Anyways," Perrine said simply as she sighed. "You better get some rest, Roland. We'll pick up from where we last left off later on. Hopefully without Eila."

I nodded my head as I said, "Yeah. I've gotten enough problems to recover from."

Being shot at by a teammate was not a very good thing to have happening to you. Let's hope Gallian and etiquette lessons for the day don't involve Lynette and guns...

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, there goes the next chapter.**

**Not too sure about the quality of it, but after the conclusion of this arc...we'll be at the halfway point of the story.**

**Or, at least...near it...**

**Anyways, please read and respond, and stay tuned for the next part as well as the rest of the story.**

**Thanks, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**


	11. Higher Than the Sky (Part 2)

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter in **_Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return_**!**

**Now, before we get going on concluding this arc...it's review time!**

_jaku uzumaki_**: Roland's life seems to be ending up like that. Other than that, thanks for the review.**

_Dragonman75_**: Alright, don't hurt yourself too much thinking about it. :) Anyways, thanks for the review.**

_MxThomas (Guest)_**: Thanks for the review.**

**Okay, now that the responses are done with for the moment, it's time to wrap this arc up.**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 12: Higher Than the Sky (Part 2)**

_Eila's POV_

I walked into the room Sanya and I were using while on the base, closing the door behind me and trying to forget about the training Perrine had Roland and me do.

Don't get me wrong: I wanted to be there for Sanya, but maybe...

_Hmm?_ I thought as my eyes caught something white lying on the small couch we had in the room. I walked over and picked it up to examine it. "Weird. What's this?"

"That's your coat, silly," Sanya said as I looked at her. She was busy in the closet, looking for something in there. "It's cold in the stratosphere, remember?"

"Oh yeah." I looked at my coat again as I stretched it out slightly. "I haven't worn this thing in forever."

"So how did it go?"

I looked at Sanya, who was holding something in her arms. "Huh?" She had a red scarf across the back of her neck.

"Your training. With Perrine and Roland." Sanya didn't look upset that I didn't tell her about my barrier training.

"Oh! Uh, yeah...you knew about that?"

"Yeah. How did it go?"

I chuckled for a bit before remembering what had happened. "Not good. I'm awful."

"Sorry."

I looked at Sanya and noticed that she had three scarves in her arms: a light blue one, a navy blue one, and a sage-colored one. If I had to take a guess, I think the sage one was going to be Roland's. "Sanya?" Speaking of that, does the lieutenant even _have_ a jacket or something? "Are you taking all of those scarves with you?"

"Oh no." Sanya looked a little timid for a while. "Just one. The other three are for you and Roland. And Yoshika."

I was surprised. "Miyafuji?"

"Yoshika didn't bring anything with her from Fuso, so I thought I'd lend her one of mine. And Roland doesn't seem to have any clothes suited for cold weather, so I thought I'd lend him one as well. However...I'm still hoping you'll learn how to use a shield, Eila. Aren't you?"

"It's no use." Sanya looked at me in surprise. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."

"You mean...you're gonna give up?"

I looked away from my friend. "If I can't do it, I can't do it. Doesn't matter how hard I try."

"But giving up is the whole reason you can't do it!" Sanya looked like she was trying to plead with me. "Please don't quit now, you're better than that."

"Why don't you just have Miyafuji protect you? No need to worry about _her_ giving up!"

I don't think Sanya liked my response. "Stop being so stupid!"

"You stop being so bossy!"

The door opened up rather forcefully.

I watched as Sanya threw the pillow I had asked Miyafuji to get from Roma at me, and I was soon surprised when, instead of landing in my face, a green aura surrounded it.

"Okay, that's enough!"

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

I was on my way to my room so that I could lay down and probably catch forty winks when I started hearing voices.

"...worn this thing in forever," Eila's voice said.

"So how did it go?" Sanya's voice asked.

I blinked. How did what go? What are those two doing in there?

I walked over to their room, which had the door closed for some reason, and closed my eyes as I focused on their auras. Well, I was going mostly for Eila's, but I had no real choice but to see Sanya's as well.

"Your training," Sanya continued. "With Perrine and Roland."

"Oh!" Eila said in quick realization. "Uh, yeah...you knew about that?"

"Yeah. How did it go?"

I heard Eila chuckle for a bit before I could sense a sort of blue aura wash over her, like there was some sort of remorse or something. It was probably based off of the answer Eila gave: "Not good. I'm awful."

"Sorry."

I felt Eila look at the Orussian Witch, who looked like she was carrying something in her arms. Why was Eila feeling like this right now? "Sanya? Are you taking all of those scarves with you?"

"Oh no. Just one. The other three are for you and Roland. And Yoshika."

I felt a flash of surprise emerge from Eila's aura. "Miyafuji?"

"Yoshika didn't bring anything with her from Fuso, so I thought I'd lend her one of mine. And Roland doesn't seem to have any clothes suited for cold weather, so I thought I'd lend him one as well. However...I'm still hoping you'll learn how to use a shield, Eila. Aren't you?"

I didn't really bring any because I had been accustomed to the heat. I mean, I've been in cold places, but usually I find a way of keeping warm (like grabbing a coat when I could). The fact that my backpack was only really filled with gear for warm weather and personal hygiene...

"It's no use," Eila continued. "I guess there are some things I'm not good at."

"You mean...you're gonna give up?" Sanya asked.

I know what it felt like to have given up on almost everything: I had experienced it when my secret had first been revealed. Everyone had their own reaction to it, but Yoshika and Minna were the most affected, the former having tried to convince me to stay with them while the latter had threatened me with death as well as being forced off the team. Though for Minna she was the one who let me back on the team, even after all that.

But...Eila? Give up?

"If I can't do it, I can't do it," Eila told Sanya. "Doesn't matter how hard I try."

Poor excuse, Eila...

"But giving up is the whole reason you can't do it!" Sanya replied, sounding surprised. "Please don't quit now, you're better than that."

"Why don't you just have Miyafuji protect you?" Eila said rather rudely (well, for my tastes). "No need to worry about _her_ giving up!"

Okay. I wasn't really planning on interrupting this little feud of theirs, but this has gone on far enough.

"Stop being so stupid!" Sanya shouted.

I grabbed the door handle.

"You stop being so bossy!" Eila retorted.

I opened the door by force and watched as Sanya's pillow flew from the Orussian girl's hands towards Eila's face. Thinking quickly, I called upon my gyrokinesis and caught the pillow with my magic before it landed at its intended target.

"Okay, that's enough!" I shouted as I turned off my aura-reading and faced the two feuding girls. I brought the pillow to me, where I gripped it with my right hand when it arrived. I was angry about what the conversation had escalated into. "I've been listening to this for far too long. We're a team here, you two."

"Eila just wants to give up, Roland," Sanya told me.

"There's nothing else left for me," Eila replied towards Sanya. "You, Roland, and Miyafuji are already going. No use in me dragging you down."

"Okay, that's it," I said, turning to Eila. "Eila, snap out of it! Sanya's right, this isn't like you. You've volunteered for the night mission back during the Gallia campaign. Why can't you try to work harder to actually be able to help Sanya now?"

"I agree," Sanya said.

"And you..." I turned to her, anger in my eyes. I don't know why I was angry: maybe it was the way the two were starting to go at it, or perhaps it was the fact that I had the whole training moment still fresh in my mind as each bullet slammed into Perrine's blue barrier. Hell, it could even be that my sanity had finally snapped while listening to them, but I took out all my pent-up rage on the Orussian Witch. "What gives you the right to accuse her of giving up? Last I checked, we've all tried giving up at some point. I'm probably the biggest idiot I know, and even I tried giving up." I motioned to Eila. "So don't tell Eila that she's giving up that easily. You don't know the reason why she's acting like that."

"Yeah," Eila said now. "That doesn't give you the right to complain about others' motives. Sometimes I wish that you and I had never met."

_Sometimes I..._

That last statement caught both of our attentions. Big-time.

"Ensign Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen!" I yelled in her direction. What the hell gave her the right to say that, of all things, _to someone she cares about?!_

"You..." Sanya started, trying to make sense of what she just heard. "You...you really believe that?" She sounded a little afraid.

I looked at Sanya now, my anger disappearing momentarily. "San...it's okay..."

"No..." she backed up in fear as I could see tears starting to form. "No, it's not...Eila..."

The Orussian girl ran out of the room crying, leaving me and Eila standing there.

"Sanya..." Eila tried, but I was on top of her really fast. I guess I wasn't completely done with my anger yet.

"You stupid bitch!" I screamed. "You just had to say something like that, huh?"

"I'm...I'm..." Eila looked scared. Something I could understand based on what I was doing to her right now.

"What? Sorry? Eila, what you just said..." I shook my head as I calmed down slightly. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to go find Sanya." I turned and made for the exit.

"Wait, I want to come with you..."

I turned my head to glare at her. "You've already done enough damage, Eila!" Calming down some more, I added in, "Let me handle this..."

Tossing Sanya's pillow to the Suomos Witch, I left the room, leaving Eila standing there.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sanya?" I asked as I entered the kitchen, instead finding Yoshika and Lynette (strange that I usually find those two when I enter the kitchen. I think next time I'm not sure where they are, I'll just pop into the kitchen first) making...lunch?

"Hey there, Roland," Lynette said to me.

"Hello, you two." I sounded a little worried...and a little tense. Lynette better not have a weapon on her right now. I mean, she shouldn't, but I can't be too certain of that right now...

I think Yoshika picked up on it quickly and asked, "Roland-kun? What's wrong?"

I sighed as I calmed down concerning Lynette. "Have you seen Sanya?"

"I saw her running past the doorway. I think she was crying." She then looked at me with a slight look of anger. "What'd you do to her?"

Sighing, I took a seat at the table and laid my head on its surface. "I was listening in on Eila and Sanya talking, and when they started getting into an argument I barged in..."

Yoshika cocked her head to the side. "Um...meaning...?" I think she was sounding more confused than angry now.

"...I got into the middle of it...and..." I sighed again. Might as well say it. "I yelled at them."

"You yelled at them?"

"I didn't think I had a choice. I don't know why, but I told Eila to not give up, and then...I turned around and exploded in rage towards Sanya." I buried my face in the surface of the table.

"You _exploded_?"

"I didn't mean to! It just happened! I already feel guilty for even yelling at the two of them, and now I've got the prospect of losing Sanya's trust to add to that." My words were a little muffled due to the direction I was pointing my head.

"Um..." I heard Lynette begin. "I'm not sure about it, but I don't think Sanya would just do that to you. Not trust you anymore, I mean..."

I raised my head and looked at the Britannian Witch. "And what makes you say that, Lynne?"

"Well, it's just that you're usually not like that. I hope Sanya doesn't think anything bad about you, that's all."

I sighed again. "It's not up to me to decide that." Standing up again, I decided on leaving the kitchen. It was painfully clear that I needed some alone time to sort through this. "Anyways, I guess I'll just go take a look around for her and then lock myself in Minna's quarters for a while. Well, our quarters...I'll catch you two later, okay?"

Having said that, I left the girls to their devices.

I really need to recover from what I just did...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Sanya's POV_

It was a few hours after my fight with Eila along with Roland snapping at me.

I was floating on my back in the water outside, trying to forget what Eila had said as I was taking a sort of bath.

_Sometimes I wish that you and I had never met._

_Is that how she thinks of me?_ I asked myself.

The only things comforting me were the water as I felt it all around me and the moon, whose left side was dark.

"Hey there, Sanya!"

Soon, I saw someone diving toward the water from above, and I righted myself as I saw Hartmann enter the water from her dive.

"Ow, that hurt..." Hartmann moaned in pain as I watched.

A few minutes later, and we were sitting on the ground just outside of the water, our feet swaying lazily in the waves. I had told Hartmann about what had happened in the room earlier, making sure to tell her everything. Including Roland's anger.

"You guys fought?" she asked after giggling at what I had told her. I simply nodded. "That's funny."

"I don't think it's very funny at all," I told Hartmann. I wouldn't consider being yelled at by Roland and what Eila had told me to be rather funny.

"Well, are you going to do anything about it, Sanya?"

I looked at the Karlsland lieutenant. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, guess an assignment's an assignment." She looked like she didn't hear my question, but maybe she did.

I looked away as I thought about what Roland would do. I could apologize to Eila, but then again she was the one who made me cry. Roland was almost no different: he had snapped at me.

_Sanya, I want to know: will you still trust me?_ Roland's words from before entered my mind. _No matter what, will you still believe in me?_

I blinked. Why was I thinking about that again?

"You okay, Sanya?" Hartmann asked me.

"Yeah," I told her simply. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"About Roland?" I looked at my smiling teammate. "He's getting to be quite the ladies' man, I guess. He's got Commander Minna's attention as well as Trude's. Heck, he might have every other Witch's attention at the rate he's going."

I blinked again. "Huh?"

"Look at it this way: if he keeps helping us out the way he does then I bet you anything that he'll have a little flock of admirers following him around."

...That just raised a question in my mind.

How _do_ I see Roland?

XXXXXXXXXX

I was walking back towards the room, trying to decide if I should sleep there for the night, when I ran into Roland. Well, I should say that he and I met up in the hallway (Roland was heading in the opposite direction of where I was going).

"There you are, Sanya!" he told me as he grabbed my shoulders gently. "I tried looking everywhere for you after you ran off!"

"You've tried looking for me?" I asked the Neuroi Witch as I turned my head away. Just because he's been worried about me doesn't mean that he's getting anything from me.

Roland took a deep breath. "Listen...I'm sorry, Sanya."

"Sorry?" I looked at his face and into his brown eyes. "For what?"

"I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, Sanya. I had no right to take my frustration out on you. I don't care if you don't want to speak to me for as long as you live, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm so sorry for what I did." He let go of my shoulders and turned around to leave.

I reached out and grabbed his right wrist, making him stop and turn to face me.

"Sanya?" Roland asked me. "What's wrong?"

"It's not your fault," I told him. "I don't blame you for getting angry with me."

"No way, Sanya." He gave off a faint smile. "You shouldn't have to say something like that to me, especially knowing that I shouldn't have snapped the way I did."

"But..."

"It's not your fault. Trust me." His smile was still faint, but he looked like he was genuinely truthful about what he said.

"But..." I looked away as tears began coming to my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt Roland grab me gently and give me a comforting hug. "It's alright, San. If you want to let it all out, just do so, okay?"

"_Spasibo..._" I said before I turned my head and buried it into his chest, crying into it. All I wanted was for things to be normal again.

I felt Roland pat my back gently as a hand rested against the back of my head lightly. "You're welcome."

Soon, I stopped crying as we stayed like that. It was rather...odd: I was an only child, but somehow I felt like Roland was the older brother I never had. "Roland?"

"What is it, San?"

"...Did you have any siblings?"

"Yeah. It's not very impressive, but I had three other siblings, an older sister and two younger brothers. Why?"

"It's...nothing."

"Right. I guess you didn't have a sibling to comfort you when you're feeling down?" Roland patted my back gently. "Come on. You can spend the night with us. I don't mind, plus you can work out your feelings in peace."

"I don't want to intrude..." I think I can face Eila...but what if I can't yet?

"San, believe me when I say that I'm used to you sleeping in my bed. Stumbling into my room back in Britannia was kinda what you did sometimes, no offense. Though it did score me some injuries."

"Erm...alright..."

Roland led me to his room, keeping his right arm holding me close.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

"You want Sanya to spend the night in here?" I asked Roland as he and I stood in the doorway, the girl in question sitting on his bed as she looked at us. Sully (I found it easier to call the Rottweiler on the base by that name than his full name, and somehow the dog picked up on it) was laying on Roland's bed, his head resting on Sanya's lap as he looked at us. The Orussian Witch was petting him gently.

"If it's no trouble, ma'am," Roland replied.

"Can we talk casually for a while?" I wanted to hear his reasoning for this decision without him trying to change it to sound more fitting.

"Sure, Minna. Anyways, if it's no trouble, I'd like for her to spend the night in here."

"You know she comes in here every now and then, right?" Now that I think about it, I think she came in here to sleep about a week ago.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but still...can she please, Minna? I want her to work out her emotions concerning Eila right now."

I was very confused. "Eila?" I looked at Sanya. "What happened between them?"

Roland sighed as he explained to me what had happened from his perspective. Including a summarized version of what he had said in anger.

"...I see," I said after hearing it from the Neuroi Witch. "You could have handled it better."

"You don't think I know that now, Minna?" Roland told me. "I locked myself in here for a while during the day."

Considering that I was going through paper work in my office, I didn't know that. "So you're sure you'd like for her to stay here for the night?"

"It's your call, Minna. You're the senior officer, not me."

I thought about it. While I wasn't too sure about the idea of Sanya spending the night here on Roland's initiative, he does have a sort of reason for asking me. Even if it sounds a little...odd. "I guess so. But just for the night, okay?"

"Thanks, Minna. And don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."

I smiled weakly. I think he's trying to make me feel a little better about this.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Eila's POV_

You know, it feels a little odd without Sanya sleeping in the top bunk.

I was lying on the bed in the bottom bunk, trying to run the conversation I had ended up having with Sanya (and Roland once he came into the picture).

Thinking about it, I guess I _was_ being a little stupid. I mean...yeah, I can't cast a barrier.

Roland was different in that he could actually cast one, but his was rather weak. Mine, however...I can't call upon it because I'm always too busy predicting the enemy's movements and dodging it. It's great for not getting shot, but it can't work for protecting someone.

Like Sanya...

That, and why did I tell her that I wished we had never met? That was totally not something I should have said, no matter how I said it. I guess I deserved Roland snapping at me for that concerning the comment.

I looked at the door, which was closed for the night.

You know, I think Roland found her and asked for her to spend the night in his and Minna's room.

Don't blame him: he was probably wanting to avoid any more hurt feelings over my barrier.

Though you think he could at least tell me that Sanya was with him?

Could be worse...he could have sent Sully (figured that it's easier than his full name) to sleep in here with me. He was a bed hog, according to the lieutenant. Interestingly enough, I woke up from Sanya climbing into my bed about a week after we got the dog and found myself unable to fall back asleep. So I got up and took a small walk. When I passed their room, I saw that their door was open a crack. Peering through it, I could see that Roland was curled into a little ball, like he was trying to be an unborn child or something. Sully was lying on the lower half of his bed, his back about an inch away from the lieutenant's rear.

Sad part was that the dog was laying on his blanket, so Roland was unable to cover himself up.

Don't get me wrong, Sully sleeps with the rest of us. The dog, I mean. Though he's got this sort of pattern down: if he's with Barkhorn and Hartmann, he'll either be on Hartmann's bed or Barkhorn's. For some reason, he seems to enjoy laying on Barkhorn's bed more. Probably because of the ease of access.

Anyways, if it's Miyafuji and Lynne, Sully lays on the floor, right next to Miyafuji's bed. Not a really good place for either party, especially if the little Fuso Witch needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

For Shirley, Lucchini, and Dracon...the dog hasn't really gone in there yet. Or at least, I don't think I've seen or heard him going in there. No clue.

Major Sakamoto and Perrine also don't seem to have Sully sleeping in there yet. Again, no clue why.

As for me and Sanya...

I heard scratching at the door.

I sighed as I got up and walked over to the door, opening it. I was greeted with Sully standing there on his four paws, looking a little peeved. For a dog, I mean.

"Let me guess," I said to the dog. "No room on Roland's bed?"

Sully replied by walking into the room.

Yeah, I think Roland's got Sanya sleeping in their room for the night.

"Alright," I added as I left the door open so that the dog could get something to eat or drink (should he need it in the middle of the night). "I guess you and I have the room to ourselves for now."

I walked over to the bed and lied back down, feeling the dog climb aboard. I could feel him step between me and the wall before plopping onto the bed, his head pointing towards my pillows.

Well, my pillow and the one I asked Miyafuji to get for Sanya.

I had thrown Sanya's on top of my pillow some time after Roland ran off to try catching up to the Orussian Witch, and I guess I forgot about it still being there until now.

I lifted my head and pulled the pillow in question out from behind said head.

I can't believe that my day's gone sour: being unable to go with Sanya for the mission, my failure during training, my argument with Sanya...all because of my inability to cast a simple barrier.

I brought Sanya's pillow to my chest and, hugging it tightly, turned onto my right side and fell asleep.

I really hope tomorrow goes by better than today...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Minna's POV_

_I was floating around in a sea of black._

_It felt...a little cold._

_Where was I? Why was I here? Is this a dream? Or is it real?_

_Well, it couldn't be real. If it was, then I'd be able to see where I am. Or at the very least I shouldn't be able to see my arms due to the pitch black around me._

_But here I was, floating and looking around._

_"**Hello?**" I tried to call out._

_Nothing answered me. Not a single thing._

_...Something tells me this wasn't a normal dream I was having._

_But if it wasn't a normal dream...what was it then?_

_"**Minna?**" a familiar voice asked in return._

_"**Huh?**" I replied as I looked around and soon saw someone I was afraid I wouldn't see again appear in front of me. Standing there was... "**Kurt? Is that really you?**"_

_Standing there was Kurt Flachfeld. Just how I remembered him._

_"**Hey there, Minna,**" Kurt said to me as he walked over to me._

_Not thinking clearly, I lunged out at him and caught him in a hug. "**Kurt, I'm so glad to see you again!**" I then loosened my hug and asked a more important question: "**But...the letter said that you...**"_

_"**I promised that I would come, didn't I?**"_

_"**But...you said you'd come find me in Britannia.**" Was this even real? He was killed by a Neuroi beam that destroyed the base he was in before he could be evacuated..._

_It suddenly went quiet, and before any of us could say something (anything to break the ice) I could see something red appear above Kurt's position._

_I looked at it as I stepped back._

_Was that...a Neuroi laser...?_

_"**Kurt, look out!**" I tried to say, but soon the laser had blasted down from the sky, completely covering Kurt in its attack. I could only stand there as I felt the heat of the attack. "**Kurt!**"_

XXXXXXXXXX

I bolted upright rapidly, breathing very quickly.

"Ah!" I uttered briefly.

Closing my eyes, I let my head catch up with me as I worked on slowing down my breathing.

"It was just a dream..." I said before I was calm enough to open my eyes. I was wearing a white shirt that fit my body for sleepwear along with a pair of white panties.

Why did I have a dream about what happened to Karl? It doesn't make sense: I mean, I _was_ depressed for a while after his death. Usually, everyoen does when someone close to them dies. But it's been over four years since then. Why was I remembering it now?

I turned my head to look at Roland, who had Sanya laying next to him. He was lying on his back, the Orussian Witch curled up on his left side. I think Roland's left arm was resting between them.

_Sanya looks peaceful sleeping next to him,_ I thought to myself.

She really did: if it wasn't for the fact that she had a fight with Eila (along with being yelled at by Roland), I'd think she was too tired to reach her bed and came in here to lay down quickly. She even had her left hand on the left side of his chest.

Maybe...maybe I should see if Roland could...

I got up quietly and slowly walked over to the sleeping duo, tapping on the Neuroi Witch's right shoulder when I arrived on his right side (which was about seven feet from the door).

It took a while for him to gain consciousness, and as soon as he did he looked up and saw me standing there.

"Minna?" he asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Hey, Roland?" I asked in return. "Can I...lay next to you for a while?"

"Huh?" I think he was trying to look surprised, which was not working too well for him right now. "Why?"

"I...I had a dream."

"Nightmare?"

I frowned slightly. "...Yeah. I don't want to talk about it right now." I then put a slight smile on my face. "So...can I please?"

"Not too sure about it considering I don't know the bed's weight limit, but..." He started to settle back into sleep slowly. "if you want...you can...lay down..."

"Thanks, Roland." I waited for him to snore very lightly before I took a position next to his right side. I tried getting myself comfortable, but I felt like there was something I was missing.

Maybe I should hug onto something. But I didn't take a pillow from my bed with me, and I wanted to get back to sleep as fast as possible.

What to use...

I laid my right arm on the right side of his chest, and I got my solution: if Sanya could do it, why couldn't I?

I scooted in a little closer, going over Roland's right arm. Out of some sort of reaction, he curled his right limb around me and pulled me a little closer himself.

"Night, commander..." the Neuroi Witch said before he yawned and resumed his light snoring.

"Night, Roland..." I told him as I closed my eyes. "And thank you..."

I scooted in a little more and got comfortable.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Mio's POV_

The next day, I was sitting inside Commander Minna's office with the commander. I was seated on one of the couches, Commander Minna standing near the door.

"I'm told a Romagna fleet and air unit made contact with the Neuroi this morning," Minna began as she looked at me. "Some time before dawn."

"And the result?" I asked.

The commander shook her head negatively. "Their own attack ended up leaving the Zera and Pollock cruisers completely crippled."

I looked down towards the ground a little. "I guess that means we're up next."

We're going to get some sort of result. With Sage flying up there with the attack team, we have to have some sort of success, right?

...Then again, it's hard to know the future. We could win this one, we could lose. All that matters is that we don't lose any Witches doing this. Including Sage himself...

"Mio?" Commander Minna asked me. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" I said quickly as I looked at her. "I'm just thinking, that's all."

"About our chances with Roland here?"

I sighed. "I guess so."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Francesca's POV_

Shirley chuckled as I stood there, examining the clothes she had given me to try on.

"It looks incredible on you, Francesca," Shirley told me.

I was wearing a pair of black tights, a red coat with black buttons that felt a little too big on me, a light yellow scarf with almost-white fuzzy balls around my neck, and my shoes.

"But I'm hot..." I croaked. It really was. I couldn't stand it, and the worst part was that I couldn't shed it (Shirley was ).

Shirley was busy rummaging through a box when she heard my complaint. "Oh, come on, quit complaining." She then turned her head to look in my direction. "The stratosphere is stupid cold, you know."

She had a point. "I hate it when it's stupid cold."

I really wish Draco was here right now; he was busy doing some work on his Striker Unit elsewhere in the hangar. Though then again he might just stand there and watch, only stepping in if it seems too much.

Shirley chuckled before she returned to her search, found a pair of white earmuffs, and placed them on my head, the fuzzy ends covering my ears. I flinched slightly.

"Here," she said proudly. "These are a must-have for any high-altitude season."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"Um," Yoshika began as I heard Francesca complain about it being hot, "Captain Barkhorn's coat's a little big on me, don't you think?" She was wearing what I could consider to be a cold-weather version of Gertrud's military jacket, with the collar revealing a little bit of white fleece. There were six black buttons on the front of the coat.

"So what, you'd rather freeze to death instead?" Perrine replied. She was wearing a coat that was a darker shade of her uniform, with six small golden yellow buttons on the front.

"At least you have it like that and not like this," I added. I was standing there inside my usual outfit, one of Minna's coats (a brown one that she had found inside the closet) covering my upper body. It felt a little tight on me, which is odd: what size does the commander even wear? This feels like a tight shirt on me.

Oh well, at least I was able to put the vest over it, though it looked a little funny. Not sure if it was "ha-ha" funny or not. Plus, I had a sage-colored scarf around my neck courtesy of Sanya.

"I still don't see why you have that vest over your coat," Perrine told me as she and Yoshika examined how I looked. "It doesn't look right."

"I dress my way, you dress yours," I said dryly. Really wish I brought some cold-weather clothes of my own with me or something.

...Better still, I should have bought some the last time we went into town.

Stupid not-knowing-what's-going-to-happen thing...

I flexed my left arm to get a better idea of how odd it felt on me, and I swore I felt the fabric start to stretch a little.

I better be careful with this. It's only being borrowed...

"Anyways," I said as I nodded my head to the girls. "I'm gonna take a look around and see what else is going on."

"Alright," Yoshika said as she nodded in return. "See you later, Roland-kun."

I walked off a little before I found Gertrud looking at something on the table.

I really hope she doesn't bring up what happened two nights ago...

I followed her gaze and saw that the table in the hangar had a lot of tea cups on its surface. They were filled with something, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Maybe tea or something? Looks like tea...

"Did you make those, Lynne?" Gertrud asked as Lynette was walking by.

"Yes," the Britannian Witch replied as she stopped. She was holding a tea pot with the Strike Witches emblem on its surface in her right hand, a faded yellow cloth supporting it from underneath via her left. "I tried fixing some ginger tea for us."

"You did?" I asked her.

Lynette closed her eyes and cocked her head to the right a little as Gertrud walked over and grabbed a cup with her right hand. "It's supposed to warm up the body."

...This...better not be like that time back in Britannia where Perrine fixed us some tea (what was it again, marigold herbal tea? I think that was it) and you said that you thought it was an old wives' tale (I also remember that I got my face sent into the table because of my comment about young wives' tales)...

"Really?" Gertrud asked, surprised. "Thank you." She then drank it.

Slowly, the rest of us were coming over and grabbing a cup for ourselves. Even I found myself grabbing one, though I was examining it.

"I added lots of sugar so it would be easier to drink," Lynette included. "I, uh...hope you all like it..."

"Grody..." Erica said after trying it.

"Come on," Gertrud said, trying to cheer Erica up a little. "It's actually better than I expected..." She then nearly lost the tea she had drank.

This is starting to seem very familiar; now I'm a little afraid of drinking it...

I lookd at Minna and Perrine, the former trying to look pleased as the latter was behind her, bent over.

"Oh, I love it..." Minna said, though it sounded a little...forced?

I continued staring at my cup. Right now, it seemed like it was going to be a sort of death trap if I drank it.

"Um," Yoshika began as I looked at the little Fuso Witch, Sanya, and Mio. The major was drinking it while Sanya looked a little displeased (I don't think Sanya's a big tea drinker either. Not sure. But I can say this: I bet you anything the major doesn't care. It's edible...or drinkable in this case) "It gets better if you give it just a little bit." She was also wearing one of the scarves Sanya had found yesterday, a red one. **[Author's Note: Check this]**

"If you think about it like you're giving medicine," Mio added as she lowered her cup from her lips, "it's not bad at all."

"I think it tastes well," Draco added as he looked at me. "Wouldn't you agree, lieutenant?"

You might like it because of the sugar. But then again, I haven't tried it.

Might as well. This will all end up like the liver oil from last time, so let's get it over with...

I took a quick sip and found myself grimacing.

Too...sweet...

Why did I even do that? I'm such an idiot...

"You alright, Roland?" Lynette asked me with a slight look of confusion.

"Yeah," I told her as calmly as I could. "This isn't half-bad..." I should ask for some medicine with my sugar. About a spoonful, was it?

I then looked at Eila as I shook my head. I noticed her looking at Yoshika rather intently before drinking her tea rather forcefully.

I really hope she doesn't take what happened yesterday too badly. I mean, I hurt Sanya's feelings more, but...did I really get that mean towards Eila as well?

Oh well, better drink some more tea and talk to her about it later. It's at least something, right?

*SIP*

*KAFF*

Aw hell, why did I drink more? I'm a complete buffoon!

XXXXXXXXXX

And this is probably the most awkward approximation of a cheerleader pyramid that I'll ever get to be in.

I mean, really: there were me, Yoshika, and Sanya inside a sort of tight huddle, the Orussian Witch's antennae active and her Fliegerhammer with her. We each had a pair of booster rockets attached to our Striker Units.

On the level below us were Lynette, Perrine, Francesca, Draco, and Eila (each had a set of booster rockets assisting them for the job). Resting on the ground below them were the others.

I didn't have time to actually go over how effective this formation was because we had a spire to destroy, so suffice to say that I had no idea about it.

"Ten..." Mio was saying as she counted down towards our launch. "Nine...eight..."

"Seven..." Charlotte added as she continued the countdown.

"Six!" Erica included.

"Five!" Francesca shouted.

You know, when I first heard the plan I thought we were going to use _only_ the rocket boosters to get that high...but then again this also works for me.

Look, ma, I'm...the tip...of the...rocket?

Why did Mio assign me to Sanya and Yoshika again?

"Four!" Lynette continued.

I slowed down my breathing and closed my eyes. Where we were going, this was really going to be hectic.

"Three," Perrine added.

"Two," Gertrud included.

"One!" Yoshika said as we got close to the end.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky. I've got just the word for this moment...

"_ROCKET!_" I shouted as we started flying upward, a cloud of white dust billowing out from where we left the ground.

As we rode our way up, I was going over what Mio had said about the plan in my head.

_"**First,**" Mio had started. "**We'll utilize Launch Team One, consisting of five members. They will climb to ten thousand meters using normal propulsion.**"_

We started to tip the point of the formation towards the Neuroi we were trying to hit.

_"**Once we reach our maximum altitude,**" Minna's voice continued. "**We will break away from the rest of the group.**"_

True to what I heard, the five at the bottom broke off and fell towards the safety of the surface.

Suddenly, I heard the rockets attached to the Witches supporting us start up.

_"**Launch Team Two will then ignite their rocket boosters,**" Mio continued in my head._

_"**They will carry the strike team, Miyafuji, Sanya, and Roland, to twenty thousand meters,**" Minna added._

With the increase in speed, now it was feeling like we were on a roller coaster. I tried my best to support Yoshika and Sanya, but I was getting light-headed.

Stupid speed...you just _had_ to mess with me, huh?

"How much farther?" I said into my radio.

This was really high! It's starting to look like we're going into space based on the fact that I'm starting to see the entire world up here.

_"**When that height is reached,**" Mio continued as the speech in my head played on, "**Yoshika, Sanya and Sage will then ignite their booster rockets. They will then proceed to climb higher, to thirty-three thousand, three hundred meters, where the Neuroi core is located. At that point, they'll switch to a ballistic flight and head for the core.**"_

_"**You know how cold it is up there?**" Gertrud said after the leaders went over the plan. "**Negative seventy degrees Celsius. No air, too. Without magic, they will die instantaneously. Although there's no guarantee they'll still come back alive, even with Lieutenant Sage assisting them.**"_

...You know, I actually want to know how magic is supposed to keep us from dying instantly once we reached that height, but I better chalk it up to "trivial details" for the moment and just focus on the mission.

"Okay," Perrine said into the radio. "It's time!"

"Right!" I shouted in return as Yoshika, Sanya, and I activated our boosters.

I felt everyone below us pull back as we propelled higher into the sky.

To see how the two Witches left with me were doing, I looked at them, but I noticed Sanya looking down below, towards Eila.

Once I looked at Eila with a puzzled look on my face, I then heard what was perhaps the most sudden thing I had ever heard in a moment like this.

"Let me go!" Eila shouted. "I can do it! I swear I can!"

I gasped quickly. Eila was saying that she was unable to use a shield, and now she wants to help out? Even if she cannot use a form of protection? That was suicide! Pure suicide! Even I'm not dumb enough to-

"I'll be the one to protect Sanya!" Eila continued.

I looked at my teammates quickly. Yoshika looked very surprised.

"You'll do it yourself?" the little Fuso Witch asked.

"Please?" Eila pushed on. "You said it yourself. Giving up's the reason I can't do it, remember? I'm not going to give up, not on you! I'm going to protect you, _Sanya!_" I looked down and saw that Eila was reaching a hand towards us.

Even with what Eila said about wishing she and Sanya had never met...the Suomos Witch won't give up on Sanya?

...I see now...if that's how Eila really feels about Sanya now...

Yoshika nodded, and I returned it as she left the formation and dropped down to Eila's height.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Eila's POV_

I closed my eyes as I held my hand out, losing hope that I'll ever get to protect Sanya as Miyafuji, Roland, and the Orussian Witch soared farther out of reach.

Soon, I felt someone grab my hand, and when I opened my eyes and looked, I was surprised to find that Miyafuji had come to my aid.

"Miyafuji?" I asked in surprise.

"I've got you," Miyafuji told me as she slipped behind me and got ready to push me up. "Are you ready?" I felt a sudden burst of speed as we rocketed faster, me screaming in shock. Soon, we reached Sanya's and Roland's position, where they grabbed me in their huddle.

"Glad you could join us," Roland said as he...smiled at me?

"Lieutenant?" I asked, a little confused as to why he was acting like this towards me. Wasn't he still angry from yesterday?

"Look, I know I didn't get a chance to say it before, but...I'm sorry for yelling at you. I just didn't want you two to hurt each other over something so stupid. Can you forgive me?"

Before I could give him a reply, I heard Lynette call out on the radio, "Yoshika!"

"Yoshika!" Lucchini added.

"You can't, Eila!" I heard Perrine's voice through my radio. "Your magic won't last! ou won't be able to come back!"

"Don't worry," Sanya told us. "We can bring her back down."

I looked at her in surprise.

"I'll bring her back, I promise," Sanya concluded.

"We'll all make it back," Roland included.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland's POV_

"Those two have to be completely crazy!" I heard Perrine say in my radio.

"Go, girls!" Francesca's voice chimed in. "And Roland-kun! Get it, together!"

I smiled. Of course we're gonna 'get it'. We're not leaving the job unfinished.

I watched Yoshika as she fell back towards the earth, leaving the three of us as the only ones to strike at the core.

I couldn't help but look at the background behind the little Fuso Witch, and I was almost regretting it as I looked back up and at Eila and Sanya.

Really high up, isn't it?

Soon, our boosters gave out, and we floated there as I played a few beeps in my head, like a sort of satellite.

Beep...beep...beep...

I noticed Eila looking at me, and I cut the beeps. I think I was mouthing them while running the sounds in my head.

We turned our attention to the tip of the spire, which had the core inside it.

Any ideas, you two? Asides from hurling rockets at it?

Soon, we saw the sides unwind from the top down, like it was going to whip out at us or something. As soon as I saw lasers firing into the core, I thought otherwise.

You know, this might look a little appealing to the eyes...if it wasn't a part of something that wanted to kill us.

I was contemplating going into Neuroi Mode, but I then thought about Eila. She wanted to protect Sanya, and who was I to stop her?

Actually, Perrine was right: she couldn't raise a shield...

Soon, it fired a laser at us, and I closed my eyes quickly...

Only to feel nothing ripping through my body. When I opened my eyes and looked, I saw that Eila had put up a shield in front of us and was protecting us, a fact that made me surprised.

What do you know? She's doing it. She's actually using a shield!

I nodded my head as we started floating towards the core.

Hold it together, Eila. I'm ready to help should you need it.

We left the huddle once Eila dropped her barrier as the beam died down, and Sanya readied her Fliegerhammer as we floated there.

I pointed my right index finger ahead to signal the time to fire as the beam died down.

Sanya fired off a volley of rockets that exploded around the core before one hit it and made it disappear in a flash. However, there was a resulting explosion that approached us, and I watched as Eila moved ahead a little and grab Sanya's left hand as she put up the barrier once again.

Once the explosion stopped and we were surrounded by the particles of the destroyed core, I think Eila tried saying something, but we couldn't make it out. So she pulled us in closer, my arms over each of their shoulders as I was in the middle.

"Can you hear me, you two?" Eila asked us.

"Yeah," Sanya replied as I nodded my head.

"Listen, I'm sorry..."

"No, I should apologize too."

"Same here," I added. "especially towards you right now, Eila."

Soon, something caught Sanya's attention. "Hey, look over there!"

I looked ahead and saw some sort of mountain range out in the distance.

"It's Orussia," Sanya added as she reached out to it. "It's almost like I can reach the Ural Mountains. Do you want to keep flying past them and see what's on the other side, you two?"

Eila and I were surprised. Well, at least I was.

Why was Sanya asking me if I wanted to go with them?

"Okay," Eila replied. "As long as I'm with you, I can go anywhere."

I smiled. I better not answer that right now, just in case...

"I was kidding," Sanya said in response to Eila's answer. "I'm sorry. We have a home, and we get to go back there, together."

I blinked and asked, "Sanya?"

"I think I finally understand where she's coming from," Eila added. "To know what's it like to want to protect someone more than anything."

Ah, Yoshika, huh?

Sanya and I activated what was left of our boosters and made our way back to the base way below, the three of us feeling calm.

"I'm glad to hear it, Eila," I said. "Now, let's return to base and catch up with the others. And don't worry..." I flashed a smile as I brought the girls in for a quick hug. "We're family. Everyone on the team, alright? Even if we fight with each other, nothing can separate our hearts, right?"

"You're taking this a little too seriously, aren't you?" Eila asked.

"No, not at all."

"That's nice to hear..." Sanya started as we fell. "Roland-kun..."

I grimaced briefly.

That's a grand total of three Witches who had called me that now (Yoshika, Francesca [usually with my rank; only said it alone once], and now Sanya).

Who else can I add to that before long? Better still, who else will end up calling me that almost full-time alongside Yoshika?

Not sure right now...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Roland: Next time on **Strike Heroes 2: Roland's Return**-_

_Minna: Emergency! All hands on alert!_

_Roland (confused): Um...what for?_

_Minna: Someone's infiltrated the base and causing us power problems!_

_Roland (still baffled): ...Are you sure you paid the electric bill this month?_

_Minna: It's not a laughing matter!_

_Roland: I didn't say it was. Anyways, next time-_

_Minna (a little squeamishly): **It's All Creepy Crawly!**_

_Roland: ...I really don't want to know right now..._

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, there goes the end of the chapter.**

**There are two main things I should point out.**

**Firstly, I wanted to go into detail concerning the argument between Eila and Sanya (and Roland once he got involved). I wanted to try making a sort of strain on Roland's relationship with a team member that wasn't who he was expecting. As the preview from the end of** **Chapter 9 had Sanya asking Roland about his ability to work out arguments, it only made sense (to me, at least) to have Roland get in the middle of it and, given the fact that he had barely been walking by on his way to the room and had not fully recovered from "training", get involved.**

**Secondly, I should note this about the upcoming chapter: this is going to be a rather...interesting set of events. Not only for Roland but also Draco as well.**

**...That's about all I can say about it.**

**Anyways, please read and respond, and let me know how you liked this chapter.**

**Thanks, and I'll see you next time.**


End file.
